How Many Problems Do We Have Now?
by HolleringHawk65
Summary: Continuation of Getting Home (not necessary to read that.) Starts after Degeneration, and Chris is just happy for Leon to come back safe-for the most part. Curtis Miller really messed him up, and now he's thinking about Sherry Birkin. So what happens when Leon's ex best friend (girl OC) comes and asks for a place to stay, and Chris finds out she worked for Wesker? AU
1. Getting Home

**Author's Note:** This is a continuation of _Getting_ _Home_, taking place after _Resident Evil: Degeneration_. It's the same deal where Chris doesn't work for the BSAA (exactly as it was,) and Jill hasn't been taken by Wesker, but lives in California with Claire (they aren't in a relationship!). So this is technically an AU, I guess.

Again, sorry if it seems really off, but I've only played Resident Evil 4 & 6. So when I reference stuff that 'happened during' other games or stuff like that, it's not suppose to be by the game.

Please read and review! ~ _HolleringHawk65_

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Resident Evil or most of the characters in this story.

**Chris 7:38**

It's 2005. The Harvardville incidents had just occurred, and all I have done in the past twelve or so hours is worry about my sister, Claire, and my boyfriend, Leon S. Kennedy. Nobody was allowing me to do _anything_ and I felt more worried than when Leon was in Spain, by himself. His life had seemed to have hung in the balance of how stupid the people around him were acting.

Now all I could do was breathe a sigh of relief as Leon walked through the hotel room door. He looked tired, but he was alive.

I was instantly over to him and hugging him, holding him close. I was very close to just completely falling apart. How did Leon always stay so calm?

"Alright…" he tried to pat my back "…you're squeezing me to death." He told me.

I let him go and he took a couple deep breaths before coming over to me and pressing his face into my chest and hugging me. This time, I just hugged him back gently.

"It was almost Raccoon City all over again." He said into my chest. It was in these moments that I remembered Leon had stumbled into the City I'd already left. That it was pretty much just him and Claire against the Tyrant and Birkin, not to mention countless hordes of T-Virus infected. And he had to worry about young Sherry Birkin, as well.

This time it'd been an airport, Leon and two rather incompetent S.R.T. members. The one had been so clueless he had gotten himself infected. Then they had that stupid senator that hadn't helped anything at all, the little girl (Rani), a flight attendant, and Frederic Downing, WilPharma's head researcher and a man who disgustingly reminded me of Wesker.

Then, he and Claire had separately gone to the WilPharma facility only to have hell break loose with Curtis Miller. Now he was safe in my arms though, and I didn't have to worry about a zombie…

_Stop it Chris! He's right here and that's all you need to think about!_ I sighed and put my face against his neck.

"You reek," I told him.

He chuckled, "Like you're any better."

"Mmmm, right…" I gently tugged on the bottom of his earlobe with my teeth. "We could fix that, you know." I whispered into his ear.

He shuddered against me. "That's it, time for a hotel shower." I loved it when his voice got all husky like that.

_**A while later, after countless kisses and a **__**bit**__** lot of sleeping…**_

We got into a private jet. Neither of us liked planes much and I don't understand how, or why, President Graham—now on his second term, by the way—thought it was acceptable to send a plane for us after _an airport had just been attacked_.

Leon was still pretty tired—he'd been up the two hours it had taken on the helicopter ride from DC to Harvardville. Then there was the roughly twelve hours he'd been awake doing his normal running around avoiding zombies and other mutants.

Then there'd been earlier… where he hadn't gotten enough sleep.

And there was now, which is when he'd taken off his seat belt and put his head on my lap. It was a thing I'd discovered he liked to do. Physical contact was a big thing with him, especially when he was asleep. He didn't like to talk about it a lot, but I'd figured out he needed to be reassured that someone was still there with him. He didn't like to admit it, either.

He relaxed in his sleep, a smile curving on his peaceful face. He murmured my name in his sleep. I sighed and leaned back on the seat, just enjoying the fact we were together again. I'd never had had the chance to feel like this since last year when Leon had gone to save Ashley Graham from a cult in Spain.

To be honest, I'd been living with the hope that I wouldn't have to. Here we were though, so I suppose my hoping was really worth nothing.

I let myself drift off a little bit because I hadn't gotten much more sleep than Leon. I woke up with Leon still asleep.

I nudged him slowly. "Hunh?" his eyes opened slowly; beautiful green eyes that I had to fight from melting into it.

"_Reaching D.C. in approximately fifteen minutes_," a voice said over the intercom. _"Please buckle your seat belts."_

Leon sighed as he sat up and buckled the seat belt. He put his head against my shoulder. "I can't wait to get home." He told me. "I'm going to order a nice, juicy, double cheeseburger and then I'm just going to completely crash."

I smiled at him. "You deserve a nice, long, rest."

He slowly nodded. "Then it's back to work Saturday." He told me.

"Wait, what? Are you serious? Leon, it's Thursday. Do they expect you to be a robot that just shows up to work every day?" I asked him.

"Chris, I'm a secret service agent. This is the kind of stuff I do." He reminded me. We were starting to descend, but I felt anger starting to rise.

"Leon, secret service agents don't have to worry about zombie outbreaks."

He sighed and looked at me, straight into my eyes. "Would it make you feel better if I asked for a few days off?" He asked me.

I smiled. "Really happy, actually," I responded to him.

The plane landed and I grabbed the bag we had used for our clothes. Leon took his gun case from the carryon holder above. It was the same one he'd gotten in Spain. It was just another thing he didn't like to talk about a lot. I'd accepted that—he'd opened up about Luis, and Claire could provoke him to talk about Ada, but…

Then there was this whole Krauser issue. Leon refused to open up about it. I was trying to let it slid, but there was a point where I just… I don't know.

We were escorted by a limo to my pick-up truck at the parking garage where we'd met the helicopter over a day ago.

We drove in silence. It wasn't an awkward, tension filled silence that comes after an argument. This was a content silence that symbolized we were both thinking about other things. I was thinking about Claire, and how she'd hadn't even said hi. Talk about sisterly love.

Whatever, I'd bug her about it later over the phone.

As I drove into the driveway, Leon shifted in his seat. "Are you going to work tomorrow?" He asked me.

'Work' was a loose term. I flitted around from Field Operations Support to aiding in tracking down wisps of Umbrella, like WilPharma.

"Nope," I told him before I got out to enter the code for the garage pad.

"Curtis's family died in Raccoon City." Leon said. "And he wanted to use the G-Virus to avenge his family, but that didn't help him at all." He continued as we walked into the utility room.

Clearly this was all getting to Leon's head. Severely. I couldn't find a response to what he'd said as I picked up the phone and dialed the number to our favorite hamburger joint.

"Hello, how may I help you?" The girl on the other end asked.

I recited the order I knew by heart—a double cheeseburger with barbeque sauce and I got a double cheeseburger with mayo and tomato, and we also got two large French fries.

I'd just hung up when Leon came behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. He sighed softly and we just stood there for a few minutes, staying with each other. I turned around and he pulled me close, kissing me hard.

_So deliciously bi-polar_… His hand pressed against the small of my back as his tongue fought its way into my mouth.

He had started unbuttoning my shirt when the door bell rang. He grabbed a twenty dollar bil that was on the counter and walked to the door he opened it and practically shoved the cash into our poor food delivery boy's hands and took the brown paper bags from him.

He closed the door and looked at me, the most mischievous look in his eyes.

He looked at the bags, then at me.

"This is going to be a long night, isn't it?" I asked him, smiling.

My blond lover grinned, nearly ear to ear. "You bet."

**Leon 23:48**

Chris was asleep next to me, the scent of peanut oil from the French fries all over him. I finally found myself falling asleep, and I hoped I'd be able to clock out for the next twelve or more hours.

"_Are they going to hurt me?" The twelve year old asked me, clutching my shirt as the government officials met us._

_I smoothed her blonde hair. "No one is going to hurt you, Sherry, these men are supposed to help you, alright? I'll come visit you, I promise."_

_Promise, promise, promise; the word echoed over and over again in my head._

_I was in a glass box, surrounded by darkness. Above all, I was alone. Chris wasn't here, Claire wasn't here, no one I had killed or ever known was here. I was alone._

_I rubbed my arms. _Where the hell am I?

_I was knocked back as something hit the glass, shattering it completely._

I woke up, panting and the bed slick with my sweat. I felt Chris's hand on my shoulder.

"Are you alright?" He whispered into my ear.

I turned right around and just started kissing him, needing to feel his skin against mine, his strong hands on me.

"Leon," he mumbled, starting to push me away. That was a new one. "Leon, stop."

I didn't say anything for a moment, shocked. Chris was telling me to stop?

"What the hell is going on with you?" He asked me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him.

"How can you not know? Leon, first you're moody, then you mention Birkin, then you drop that all together, then we're having the best night, then you're screaming out in your sleep and now you're like this! I mean, dear god Leon! I can take a lot, but everyone has a breaking point." He told me.

We were sitting up on the bed now, the sun's early rays shining through windows. On a regular day, we'd wake up and try to hang onto the peace for as long as we could. But right now, Chris was looking at me, his expression worse than Amber's after we'd left her alone for half a day.

I didn't know what to say to Chris. Curtis Miller had really gotten to my head. And the way he'd been chasing down Angela, all I could think about now was Sherry. I hadn't seen her since I'd reluctantly given her to the government. Life had practically forced me from being able to.

I'd broken a promise. I was terrible with keeping them.

As I looked a Chris, I knew he'd want me to tell him—he'd always told me he wanted us to have a completely open, no secret keeping relationship. I just couldn't.

"I'm sorry." I said softly. "Can we just forget about this?" I asked him.

I could almost hear it: _Leon, please tell me what's bothering you._ Instead, he just got up and walked into the bathroom.

I started to get up when he talked to me. "Just go back to sleep Leon."

I sighed and laid back down, burying my face in a pillow. Maybe I could just smother myself to death. _No…one little bump in the road isn't enough to throw everything away…_

I feel back asleep somewhere along the way. These dreams were just normal; those really weird lucid dreams you talk about later and laugh about.

I woke up a little later and Chris wasn't in the bedroom or bathroom. I checked downstairs after I got ready for the day, and found it empty.

There was a letter on the fridge, written in Chris's hurried writing.

_Leon, _

_Went out for a run, will be back later._

_Love you,_

_Chris_

I sighed, but this is what Chris did. He'd come back and we'd be able to work everything out.

I knew he'd be back in about twenty minutes, and I needed some more time to think, so I wrote on the other side his letter.

_Chris,_

_Went out to the store. Don't worry, I'm not mad, we're just out of milk and other stuff._

_Leon_

I grabbed my leather jacket, wallet, and keys.

I felt cooped up, even after Harvardville; all jittery and not tired. So instead of taking Chris's truck for something that was destined not to be too long, I slid into '65 convertible corvette. I needed to drive and I needed to do something that was not by the books.


	2. The New Girl

**Author's Note****:** For anybody that really likes this, my posting are going to be really sporadic for a while… Anyways, hope you like this is going! Please read and review and tell me what you think!

-_HolleringHawk65_

**Chris 9:38**

I walked inside, feeling relieved from running for at least five miles with Amber. I'd gone over to Stacey's and retrieved Leon's favorite girl in the world. Stacey had asked how Leon was and I told her as truthfully as I could without embarrassing him.

So, Leon was alive and trying to push himself too hard again.

"Leon, I'm home!" I yelled after closing the door. Silence.

I went upstairs and found the bed and the bathroom empty.

I went back downstairs and saw a note on the fridge. I read it, my heart beat calming.

Going back upstairs, I stripped down and took a shower. When I came back out, Leon still wasn't home.

I went into the utility room, opening the door to the garage. I was checking to make sure Leon wasn't just sitting in the truck.

He hadn't even taken the truck. His corvette was gone.

I groaned. If that was the case, who freaking knows when he'd come back.

I went back into the kitchen, and Amber stayed by the door. I didn't try to gain her love. I was relatively sure that all she thought I was good for was taking her on walks and another warm body when Leon was working late.

My stomach grumbled, and I figured now was as good as a time to have something to eat. I opened the fridge and the first thing that caught my eyes was Chinese food from earlier this week.

I nuked that in the microwave and sat down on the chair in the living room. I flipped on the TV, but there was nothing really interesting, so I just flipped it to the country music station.

After my brunch, I leaned back in the chair. It was past eleven o'clock and Leon still wasn't home… I sighed and was about to play some video games to kill time when the door bell rang.

I got up and saw a girl standing there. I'd never seen her before in my life, or anyone that resembled her in the slightest. She was wearing a trench coat, black jeans, and combat boots. Her multi colored hair was in a low bun, half covered by a flat cap. She had one arm through a backpack strap.

I opened the door. "Hi, how can I help you?" I asked her. Amber got up from her post by the utility room door to smell this girl.

"Oh, hi, this is Leon's house, isn't it?" She asked and then glanced up at the number above the door. "It is eighteen Winter Grove…" she said softly, mainly to herself.

"Yeah, he's just not home right now." I told her.

"Oh…Do you know well he'll be back?" she asked me.

"Hopefully anytime now; do you want to come in and wait for him?" I asked her.

"Could I? That'd be great," she told me. I stepped back and let her, and then closed the door.

"So what's your name?" I asked her.

"I'm Katherine Marcello, and you?" She asked me.

"Chris Redfield," I extended my hand and she shook it, her hand covered in a knitted fingerless glove.

"Do you live with Leon?" She asked me.

"Yeah, for a little over a year now, I guess." I explained to her. "How do you know Leon? He's never mentioned you."

She blushed. "Man, I hope he'll still talk to me if that's the case. We grew up together," she began to explain. "We were best friends until Leon turned seventeen. Then he started going off on his whole police thing and here he is today." She shrugged, "Could I use your bathroom?" she asked me.

"Yeah, it's right over there," I told her, pointing to it. "You can take your shoes off, too."

She pulled her feet out of her boots and put her bag down next to them, and then she went into the bathroom.

Amber bolted over to the utility room door when we heard the roar of the corvette's engine from down the street. She sat in front of it patiently, her tail hitting against the cabinet. Leon came in a few minutes later, carrying grocery bags.

"Hey," I said, letting him put the bags on the counter and pet Amber. The mutt was trying to restrain her excitement, but she was still nearly jumping up.

He looked up at me and smiled. "Hey. I'm sorry about early, it's just Curtis-"

"Leon!" Katherine had come out of the bathroom.

He looked at her, his mouth still open. "Kate? Why are you…?" I could see in his eyes that he was thinking lots of different words. "Why are you here?" He asked her.

Her cheeks flushed with red. "I…I was hoping you'd let me stay here for a while." I glanced at Leon, seeing him think about that statement. "I just need to get back on my feet. It'd only be for short while, and I'll get a job to pay rent."She told him, her words almost blurring together.

"Alright," he told her. She let out a sound of excitement and came over and hugged him. He hugged her back, looking at me.

_Does she know?_ I mouthed to him. He shook his head.

Great. Just freaking great. His old best friend didn't know that he was dated guys—so what does this mean for me? Knowing Leon, he wouldn't just tell her.

"Thank you so much Leon, I won't be a bother, I promise." She told him.

"You can stay here, but, Kate, we needed to set rules and boundaries." He told her as she pulled away.

"Okay, tell me your deal." She told him, smiling.

"No parties. I don't care if you go to them, but none here. You can't randomly open the door at night if Amber is roaming around. If you bring a guy or girl, or whatever is floating your boat these days, _please_ don't expect me to be pleasant in the mornings. And no rent until you get a decent job."

She breathed a sigh of relief, "Deal."

_**Two weeks later…**_

I was reclining on the couch. It was one of my days off, but Leon still had to go in. Kate was in one of the guest bedrooms, hopefully on her computer so she could get a job so she could get out of our freaking house.

Amber was lying in front of the couch. I had rather happily discovered she liked Kate less then she likes me.

I got up as the phone started ringing.

"Hello, this is Chris Redfield." I knew I sounded irritated. I'd barely gotten any sleep last night. For once it wasn't because Leon was having a rough night, but because Claire had said she was on a date with a potential boyfriend.

Ya, I know; _he's such a creep_, or something, right? I'm just a protective brother…

…who was itching to have Claire's new friend background checked through the FBI and Interpol.

"Hi, I'm looking for Katherine. Is she there?" He sounded like he was from Texas.

"Yeah, let me get her." I walked up stairs, phone in hand. I knocked on her door. She opened it and I handed the phone to her. "Some guy is asking for you." I told her.

She took it from me. "Thanks," she mumbled before talking to the phone. "Hey, you've reached Katherine Marcello."

I went back down stairs and flipped on the TV, though I quickly lost interest. _I need to get another job. This is driving me insane… I should be doing something…_

Kate came down a few minutes later. She had one hand against her cheek, trying to rub away tears. I didn't know if I should try to comfort her or call Leon or what.

She sat down in a chair next to the fire place. "That was my doctor." She said softly. I don't know if she thought I cared, because I don't. She's the one person in the whole world's history (yes, including Wesker and Hitler) that I would erase. Leon had been put a bit on edge by her appearance and now I've been kicked into the other guest room.

Suffice to say, Amber now sleeps with me.

She wiped another tear away. "It's so stupid," she whispered to herself.

**Katherine 11:28 a.m.**

What was I doing here? What was I doing sitting in the living room with Chris Redfield, Umbrella's number one enemies?

_Wesker's_ number one enemy?

How did Chris even meet Leon? And why the hell were they living together?

I came to Leon's house honestly thinking he lived alone, except for maybe a dog. I didn't expect him to have a roommate that seemed to never leave the house. I came because I was sick of Umbrella and WilPharma and TriCell and _cults_ by the hand full!

I was sick of being played and used by Kollin. I gripped my stomach. _And now you can't even tell him you're pregnant because he'll tell Wesker and what will happen then? You've seen Sherry Birkin, do you want for your son or daughter?_

Sherry, who begged me to help her find Leon; and I knew where he was all along.

I felt my stomach get queasy and I rushed into the bathroom. I closed the door but I'm sure Chris could still hear me puking my guts up. I flushed the toilet, my head still over the bowl.

"Katherine?" He knocked on the door. "What did your doctor tell you?"

_It's so stupid he's the first one I'm telling. I need someone to tell me what to do though._ "I'm pregnant." I feel so helpless and _stupid_. How could I let Kollin get me pregnant?

He came into the bathroom and knelt on the floor next to me. His grey eyes met mine. "Do you want me to call Leon?" He asked me.

I nodded my head. He got up and I heard him dialing on the phone.

"Hi, Ashley, is Leon there?" He paused for a moment. "Could you tell him he needs to get home? Just tell him that Kate needs him." Another pause, "No, that is not our new dog. It doesn't matter, she just needs him." He sighed, "She's not blonde now, if that's what you're asking." He looked down at me and smiled. Why does Wesker hate him so much? I guess I shouldn't question it though… "Alright, bye Ashley," he hung up.

"I'm sorry," I told him softly. "I'm just a nuisance, aren't I? I'll leave before…before…" I almost want to say _hatches_, but that's not what it really is. It's not one of the freak projects in the bottom layers of an Umbrella research facility.

For the first time, I think Chris is being nice to me. Not to blame him or anything, I haven't given him a reason to like me or anything. I just kind of walked in two weeks ago. I guess my co-workers were right when they told me I was just an annoying bug, right?

Redfield picks me up in his arms and takes me over to the couch. I'm glad he does this because I don't trust my legs at all.

"Tell me about the father." Chris said to me.

What to say about Kollin? "He doesn't like going into anything blind. He likes plans and he stocks to them. He's never given up on anything," _except for me,_ "we met at work. We both were at the same facility and he showed me around."

"Where did you work?" He asked me.

_Ah…_ I knew I'd taken too long to answer. There weren't a lot of places that use the term 'facility.' "An electrical company, up in New Jersey." I told him.

The garage door opened then, causing Amber to rush over to the utility room door. Leon came in, looking a bit more haggard than usual.

"What's up?" He asked us. I wondered what was up with the way he eyed how close Chris and I were.

"Kate here as something she wants to tell you." It felt like Redfield had thrown me under the bus as Leon came closer.

"What's going on?" He asked.

I took a deep breath, as I got ready to tell my best friend my news. Kollin would be disappointed in me right now, I'm sure of it. He thought people who weren't brave should just be hid under a carpet.

"I'm pregnant," and as the words roll off my lips, I feel like pressure has been lifted off my chest.

I saw Leon's face pale a little bit more. Chris got up, a concerned look on his face. "Are you alright?" He asked his roommate.

Our blonde friend nodded his head. "I'll live."

The phone starts ringing and I get up to get it. Chris helps Leon sit down. "Hello?" I say as I answer the phone.

"Katherine!" I instantly recognize the voice. Sherry Birkin is calling Leon's house.


	3. Another Side

**Sherry 12:14 p.m.**

I stood under a really small overhang as I waited for Katherine to respond. The rain bit at my back and I was only dressed in a pair of shorts, a tank top, and a thin sweatshirt.

He had finally let me go, after three years. My godfather had let me go and I couldn't think of anybody but Katherine or Leon to tell, seeing as I don't have Claire's number.

"Where are you?" Kate asked me.

I look around. "DC. Kate, it's really cold here." I told her, right as a car went by, driving right into a puddle. It splashed across me. I let out a bit of a shriek as it soaks into my clothes.

"Sherry?" She said, and I can hear the concern in her voice.

"Is there any way you can come pick me up?" I asked her. "Wesker let me go! He let me go and told me that I could finally live a normal life!" I told her. "And I want to see Leon and Claire again, oh, please Kate!"

"Alright, I'll be there soon. Tell me where you are." I look and see the Smithsonian Art gallery.

"I'm at the Smithsonian Art Museum." I told her.

"Alright, hang tight, okay? I'll be there in about an hour. Just stay in the museum, got it?"

"Thank you Kate, I'll see you soon!" I hang up and walk into the museum. As I walk in, a woman all dressed in blue catches my eyes. I know I recognize her…

It didn't take me long to place. The way her lips purse and the fact that her eyes look the same as in all the pictures Wesker possessed of her, I knew this woman was Jill Valentine. True, her hair had grown a bit, but the body structure was the same. I could tell why Wesker was so enraptured with her—even though I was pretty sure she thought he was dead…

I remembered all the times that the three of us—Wesker, Jill and me—went out to the bowling alley or the two of them sat down with me to help me with my homework when my parents stayed late at work. Or just anytime that I'd been around Jill—she was kind of like a second mother to me.

She was leaning on the counter, talking to the woman behind the desk. "And so, since my roommate wanted a romantic weekend with her new boyfriend, I came here. I thought I'd be able to hang with Leon and Chris, but now they have this girl living with them and it's just so _blah_." She said.

I was staring at her, just standing there, letting water collect at my feet because I was soaking wet from the downpour outside.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Jill looked at me as if I was wet, malnourished, dog. "Why are you barefoot?"

"I…it's complicated. I'm waiting for my friend." I told her.

I shuffled over to a bench and sat down. Jill continued to stare at me.

"Do I know you?" She finally asked me.

"No, I don't think so. Who are you?" I asked her. Why was I lying to her?

"I'm Jill Valentine. You didn't happen to grow up in Raccoon City, did you?" That was straight forward.

"No," I instantly lied. I don't care if Wesker would bare his soul to this woman, I can't. He always, _always, _told me never to trust anyone. He said trusting people was like coating yourself in blood in front of an infectee. It meant you were as crazy as the people who created them (in all reality, I think this was his subtle way of telling me he was rather psychotic.)

"Oh, you look like someone…"

_Jill_ had remembered me!

"I grew up in New England," I told her. It was kind of true… Wesker and I had lived in Massachusetts. He said it had a calming effect on him. And to tell the truth, he was getting better… really slowly.

It hadn't helped that HUNK was slowly losing his grip on everything or Ada Wong was the biggest bitch _ever_. I think Krauser's death last year hadn't been easy on him, either. Or, as I referred to it, the Spain incident overall had been really hard on him. He'd stayed up all night for one week, teleconferencing with Ada; he'd nearly gone ballistic when she told him she'd killed Krauser.

In truth, he'd flipped over the computer, letting it crash to the floor. He'd proceeded to pick up the broken monitor and threw it into the wall, causing Kollin to wake up.

To explain it all, in 2002, Wesker had used his contacts to get me and Manuela, a girl who had the T-Veronica virus in her system, from the government, after discovering from Krauser we'd been… that part isn't important. Krauser and Wesker had let us have normal lives in Massachusetts, and Wesker slowly let go of his 'ambitions.' I just wanted my godfather back, and I'd been so close, then…

Krauser died. Wesker was so angry/distraught/animalistic/furious/Ada's-blood-l usting, that I had to tell Manuela. She didn't come out for days, and Steve had been the only one able to coax her out of her bedroom. He'd stayed with Wesker even after he'd been fixed with Manuela's DNA.

Ada had come back from Spain talking about Leon. Before then, I guess I'd never put the pieces together that Manuela _and_ Krauser had known him. Suddenly, the three of us found ourselves wanting to be with Leon, especially Ada. Wesker quickly had her off doing something though, and I haven't seen her since the Fourth of July.

That left Manuela and me. After Wesker had calmed down from Spain, he'd told me that I could _leave_. He wanted me to have a normal life after everything the government had done to me. He told me that even though I was William and Annette Birkin's daughter, he wanted me to be who ever I wanted to be.

After Raccoon City, I'd thought that was something like saving the world from bioterrorism. Now, I think I want to settle down in the suburbs. I have enough money from offshore bank accounts to last me a lifetime.

I'd thought about leaving right away, and then I wanted to stay until I knew Manuela was going to be alright. Then Katherine had left randomly in the middle of the night—literally.

Two and a half weeks later and Wesker had forced me to leave. He told me that I was a daily reminder, and so was Manuela. But Manuela couldn't leave right now…

The door opened and I looked up to see _Leon._

"Leon!" I said, getting up and running to him. He stumbled back as I hugged him.

"Leon?"

He looked behind me. "Jill?"

"You know this girl?" She asked him.

_Ah, sheit. _

"Jill, this is Sherry Birkin. Why are you even here?"

"Sherry Birkin as in _Wesker's goddaughter_?" she asked him, ignoring his question.

"Yeah," I just buried my head in his chest. Leon was the other older brother I'd never had, next to Steve. "Jill, how am I suppose to know who is or isn't Wesker's goddaughter? She's William Birkin's daughter and a friend of mine who needs a place to stay." He explained to the brunette.

I stood there, Leon's arm protectively around me. Why wasn't Katherine here? Did he know she knows me or did she lie? If that were the case, it'd be a bad idea to ask.

"Leon, you aren't driving in this. Come stay at the hotel with me." Jill told him. "There's plenty of room for all three of us."

So the three of us went to Jill's hotel. I went with Leon in a truck, presumably actually Chris's. Oh, yeah, I know that the two of them live together. Wesker has a habit of keeping tabs on almost everyone.

I got stares from people in the lobby. I was sopping wet, the thin fabric clinging to my skin. Leon draped his jacket around my shoulders, deciding to put his arm around my shoulders. I was shaking in the elevator, my teeth chattering as I put my head against his chest.

"How did you know she was here?" Jill asked him, looking at me.

"She called my house," Leon told her, holding me. Steve told me I still acted like a child and he'd be laughing like crazy if he saw me now, standing so close to Leon that the front of him was wet.

Jill came closer to me. She still used the same soap, by the smell of it. "Why did you lie to me, Sherry?" She asked me.

I looked at her as the elevator door slid open. Blue eyes stared into mine. "Jill…I'm so sorry." I told her. I couldn't think of anything else to say. She, of all people, would understand Wesker, and everything he'd told me. I couldn't tell her though. He wanted her to think he was gone. He wanted everyone to think he'd dropped off the face of the planet, or melted into the core or some weird thing that really only he could achieve, and perished in the process. And he'd done a pretty good job of it, too. I wasn't about to completely undo all of his 'work.'

Jill led us to her room and opened the door. I was greeted by what I assumed was one of the best suites in the hotel. She went over to her suitcase and got out a t-shirt, sweatpants, and socks.

"Go change, you're dripping like you just danced in the rain." She told me.

"Thanks," I responded softly.

I went into the bathroom and stripped out of my wet clothes. I leaned against the door for a moment. Jill Valentine and Leon S. Kennedy were standing on the other side of the door. Two people who'd I'd thought about nearly every day when the government was holding me. Of course, I thought about them since that, but…

I heard Jill start to talk. "So how's Chris?" She asked.

"He's good. How's Claire?"

"She's good." There was silence between the two of them. I guess neither of them had much to talk about without either Redfield with them?

"I never knew that you knew Sherry," it was Leon talking.

Jill didn't say anything for a moment. "Before the Arklay incident."

I came out then, not wanting to hear the next words.

**Kollin 13:47**

I leaned against Wesker's doorway. He sat at his desk, his imperfect hair being tightly held by his fingers.

"Ada is back," I told him, hoping that would rouse him out of his bedroom. He hadn't been out since Sherry had left yesterday. He wasn't going to admit it, but I could see that sending Sherry away reminded him of losing William.

"Where was she this time? Milan?" He asked, his voice sour. He turned to look at me, his amber eyes boring into me.

"Harvardville; she might have actually proved useful this time." I explained to him.

He got up, clearly intrigued. We walked through the house to the kitchen, where Ada was sitting, fingering a scar.

Wesker raised an eyebrow at her.

"Shrapnel from exploding glass," she explained. She picked up a case from her feet. "I got this from the WilPharma facility before Curtis Miller went insane." She put it on the table and opened it.

I was a retriever—I'd been in Raccoon City. I knew what the viruses looked like.

I was still surprised when I saw the T-Virus samples.

Wesker was as well. His face paled as his eyes widened. Then he did something that told me he wasn't going to get over Ada's past mistakes. He grabbed her by her jacket and slammed her against the wall.

"Why the _fuck_ would you bring _those here_? Why don't you understand I'm done with this?" He told her, his face inches from hers.

"Why don't you understand that there's always going to be a part of you that's going to wonder _what if_?" She asked him. "That you're never going to be able to undo Raccoon City?"

He slammed her again in the wall. "I don't _want_ to."

"You want to keep everything that happened there on your conscious? Birkin's death, S_herry_ becoming an or-" He threw her to the ground.

"Get out."

"We-"

"_Get out. Take the case and __**get out**__." _I'd never heard him speak like that.

Ada got up and took the case. She shot a glance at me and walked out.

"What happened?" I asked him.

Wesker sat at the table, his fingers returning to his hair. "William has been dead for over seven years." He reminded me. "That means Sherry has been without both parents for over seven years. It's been nearly seven years since Alexia died."

I'd never understand Alexia's twisted relationship with Wesker.

"Your point?" I asked him.

"I'm done. It's been _seven_ years and I've accomplished _nothing_. William threw everything away, including Sherry and Annette. Look what happened to him! I want, no, I _need _to stop." He told me.

I cautiously went closer to Wesker.

"What about the Las Plagas samples?" I asked him.

"I'm going to destroy them. I don't know how, just yet, but I'm going to. I have to. This whole thing forced me to push Sherry away, and Manuela needs me now. Steve can't do everything by himself." He told me.

_Speaking of the devil…_ Steve walked in, ignoring us for a moment. He was still upset with Wesker for telling Sherry to go. He'd never been one to deal with change well…

He took an apple from a bowl on the counter, and then pushed himself up next to the sink. He looked at me and rolled his eyes. Even at twenty-five, he still acted like a child. Such a shame Wesker and Katherine had never let me discipline him.

Wesker looked at him, and I could see the words _Get off my counter_ forming on his tongue, before he shook his head and looked down at yesterday's newspaper on the table.

"I thought I'd take Manuela down to the Jersey Shore for a few days; get some ocean air into her lungs." Steve told us.

Wesker looked up at him. "How is she?" He sounded more composed, even if he did look like he was a drunken man that had just rolled out of bed.

"She's missing Sherry and Katherine…But I think we all are." He told us, before shoving off the counter and walking away. "I'll have my cell if you need us."

I was surprised that Wesker hadn't even protested. Maybe he hadn't been messing around when he said he wanted a more normal life—I guess that extended to everyone.

As that dawned at me, I blurted out "Am I out of a job?"

Wesker jumped at the sound of my voice. "What?"

"Am I out of a job, since you're not going around being all evil maniac on everyone anymore?" I restated.

"You could go to the store, if that makes you feel better." Wesker answered, his eyes drifting back to the newspaper.

"Fine," I grumbled. "I'm going to, then. Need anything?" I grabbed my jacket from the coat tree as I asked him.

"Today's newspaper…" Wesker told me as he continued reading, clearly enraptured by the Women's Club walk through the local State park.

I paused, wondering if I should try to get him out of the house.

No… That would be tomorrow's mission.


	4. Confrontations

**Author's Note: **I've had this chapter done for a lil less than a week, and I didn't want to post it, but I'm struggling with more chapters…Oh well, hopefully I'll get another one done this week…

I hope you enjoy this! As always, please read & review!

~_HolleringHawk65_

**Chris 15:11**

Katherine sat on the chair that matched the couch.

I watched her, trying to figure out how to brooch a new topic. Or, something that I feel is getting kind of old.

"Why?" I asked her.

She looked up from the book she was reading. "What?"

I stared into her eyes as rain poured outside, beating against the windows.

"Why are you, or did you, work for _Wesker_?" I asked her.

"What are you talking about?" She asked me.

I pulled out the key card; red and white with her picture on it with _Katherine Marcello_ and _Caretaker_ underneath. I didn't care about what for. I knew that she worked for Wesker; I wanted to know why she was here, bothering Leon, _messing_ with him, _my boyfriend_.

Her mouth opened. "Chris…"

"What? Why are you here?"

"I left Wesker."

"Don't tell me he's the father of your kid." I snarled.

Her eyes widened for a minute. "How could you ever think that? He's never gotten over-" She stopped herself short. "William or Krauser; both, really; doesn't like change and certainly doesn't like me in that way. He barely tolerates me as is. I'm only there for them."

I wish I had my combat knife so I could just shove it in her throat. Watch as the crimson liquid bubbled out onto her tan skin.

I grabbed her by her shirt lapels, causing her to yelp.

"_Why are you here?_" I asked her, not evening trying to hide the malice in my voice.

"I told you," she gasped for air as I loosened my grip. "I left Wesker and Kollin. The three are old enough to take care of themselves, and I needed to prioritize." She told me.

I let her go and backed away. "Why come here, to Leon?"

"We promised to always be there for each other. I'm sorry if you don't approve." She told me. "I get it; you're protective of your friend. You don't trust me because I worked for Wesker."

_Friend? Has she still not figured out that we're together? How could _Wesker_ hire someone so dense? _I asked myself. "So he didn't send you…" I felt like I could breathe again.

"He doesn't care about Leon." She explained to me.

"Let me guess, he still cares about me? About one of the last S.T.A.R.S. members still alive?" I asked her.

She shrugged, shifting in her chair. "He's kept tabs on you and Claire. He's loosened up a bit. Maybe you should too."

I leaned in, so close our faces were mere inches apart. "I'll loosen up when you're loose in Hell." I told her, my voice deeper than any tone I'd used with Claire or Jill. Even with Amber.

The door bell rang and Amber got up and started barking. I went to the door and swung it open to see Stacey standing there. "Hi, Chris! I brought you over some extra lasagna."

I looked at the casserole dish in her hands. Now why Stacey would be coming over to the house in the middle of a rainstorm was beyond me, but, no, I wouldn't question it. Stacey's lasagna was better than any five star restaurant's.

"Come on in," I told my neighbor and also close friend. She stepped in, pushing her sweatshirt's hood down.

"Hi Kate," Stacey said warmly. I glanced at Leon's friend to see her staring at the chair's arm.

"Hey," she mumbled, her hand moving to her stomach.

_Don't feel bad. Don't feel bad. __**Don't feel bad for her.**_

But she was pregnant with a psychotic man's baby. Who else would willingly work for Wesker? I shouldn't wish that on anyone…

"I'll be right back," I told Stacey, heading upstairs. I went into my room just to take some deep breathes. Count down from ten while holding a pillow. Thinking about what my mother would say if she could hear my thoughts. Thought about Claire and realized I really needed to call her.

_Be nice to Kate. Kate is Leon's friend. Leon is your boyfriend. You have to be nice to the people he cares about because there aren't a lot of them and he puts up with everyone you care about. _My mental prep talk helped me a bit. I was about to go downstairs when I heard Kate's voice.

"I just want him to like me. We got off on the wrong foot and I want to fix that."

"Chris is just protective. He kind has been for the past year, with all of Leon's stuff going on. You just have to give him time. He didn't like me at first, either. I got the impression he thought I was trespassing on his territory. Kind of like Amber," Stacey stopped talking, I guess to pet the mentioned dog. "They both need time to adjust to new people."

I walked downstairs. "Thanks for the lasagna." I told Stacey and hugged my friend. I considered her a fill-in for the other females in my life.

"You're welcome." She hugged me back. "I've got to go, bye ya'll." Stacey walked out.

"I should've been forward." Kate told me. "I'm sorry."

"I'm the one who went through your stuff." I admitted. "I get you needing to feel secretive and keep everything bottled inside, but that's not going to help you or the baby. All I ask is that you're straight forward with me and Leon, alright?" I explained to her.

"Alright, I will be. Thank you."

**Piers 6:15 p.m.**

Over half the places on the Boardwalk were beginning to close for the season, or already closed. It was the second week in October, so I didn't blame them. It'd been a relatively warm summer, but that was coming to an end.

It was a Wednesday, so not a lot of people were walking in the gloomy weather. I'd dropped out of college and came to my parent's beach house in OC. I was done and sick of everyone. All I wanted to do was calm down and figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I sat under a pavilion as it began to spit rain and watched the Atlantic Ocean.

It looked angry today, frothy waves hitting against the shores. A tropical depression was coming north from the Florida coast, and it wasn't supposed to be half as bad as Katrina.

I looked up and saw a guy and his girlfriend walking down the boardwalk, holding hands. She was Hispanic, while he had reddish brown hair and dark green eyes.

"My dad brought me here once," he told her as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"My dad never did anything that was worth doing." She told him.

"He fathered you; practically saved your life, too." He reminded her.

I found myself getting up and walking behind them. There was something about these two that seemed…_off_.

"But it was at the expense of dozens of other girls." She responded.

_What are they talking about?_

"You couldn't have stopped it. You were a _little_ girl." The guy said back.

"_A little girl_; that's how Krauser and Leon saw me. I was a little girl needing protection that proved useful in their mission. I'm still a little girl." She said, bitterness edging into her voice.

He stopped and turned them so they were facing each other. "Manuela, don't say that! You could leave and live on your own-"

"No I can't! The American government is still watching me! They probably know we're here right now, and I'll always be looking over my shoulder! Steve, that's not how I want to live!"

That's when Steve turned his head and looked at me as I walked by them. For a second, I thought he was going to jump me and rip my throat out like some creepy vampire type monster.

"You're a senator's son, aren't you?" He called after me. "Senator Nivans, right?"

I stopped and turned around. "What about it? Why would you care?" I asked him.

Before I knew it, this random guy had my jacket collar and punched me in the jaw.

"Steve!" Manuela screamed. "Put him down!"

He kneed me in the crotch and threw me into the boardwalk.

"Dude, what the fuck?" I asked him, starting to get up.

"I'm proving a point." He told me, moving forward to kick me. My uncle's teachings flickered into my head. I rolled over, pain shooting up my shoulder. I lunged for Steve's legs, knocking him over, his head slamming into the boardwalk.

"Stop it! Both of you! Steve, you're going to kill him!" The girl yelled at him.

With his legs on top of me, he moved so my head was locked in between my legs. Adrenaline rushed through me, taking me to a dizzying high. I struggled to move him, my pulse bounding in my ears.

I saw the girl's fingers wrapped around his leg, trying to pry it from the other one. "Steve! Stop it!"

He let up as I had stopped struggling. I gasped for air, rolling away from him. I straggled to my feet, stumbling forward.

Manuela reached for me. "Are you alright? Where should I take you?" She asked me.

"Manuela, don't help him! He's just going to end up being government scum!" Steve told her, getting up.

She looked over her shoulder. "Is Claire government scum? Leon? Chris? Either shut up and go home or shut up and help me." She told him as I started leaning on her. She focused her attention on me. "How far down is your house?" She asked me.

I couldn't answer her as I started coughing up blood. _Shit, he's really done a number on me_. I couldn't get up from all fours as more blood got hacked up.

"_PIERS?!" _I instantly recognized Rebecca Chamber's voice. _This day can't get much worse, can it?_ "Billy, help me." I felt her ex marine boyfriend helping me to my feet.

"You alright, kid?" I was about to answer when I realized Billy wasn't talking to me, but Manuela.

"I'm fine, just a bit shaken up." She told the two.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in D.C.?" Rebecca asked the Latina.

"No, I don't live there anymore. I…should go." She quickly explained, starting to walk away.

"Wa_it_," my voice was raspier than I thought it would be. "Come home…with us." I managed to get out.

"Okay," her voice was soft and docile.

"Tell me what happened." Rebecca cooed to Manuela.

Silence from the young woman for a moment. "I got jumped and he saved me. The guy got away." She was covering for her friend in front of one current government agent and the other one was Spec. Ops. What was she doing?

All the thinking and my queasiness led to me blacking out.


	5. Movies & Fighting

**Sherry 12:36 p.m.**

_18 Winter Grove._

Leon's house was simple. It was the first house on the left in a suburb in Virginia. It had six trees in the front yard, five directly in front of the house and one off to the side.

There was a side walk in front of a lot of holly bushes, and then there was the house; white with dark green shutters and dark grey shingles. One window was missing its screen.

It…was completely the opposite of where I'd thought Leon would live. But, at the same time, it was completely him.

Leon backed the pickup truck into the driveway, and Jill pulled in after him. "Can you get the garage remote out of the glove box?" He asked me.

"Sure," I opened it up and fished around. Either this was a mess or Wesker's standards of neatness were a thousand times higher than everybody's. "Finally," I mumbled as I felt the desired object. I pulled it out and pressed the button, allowing it to open.

I felt my mouth open as the beautiful creation of man was revealed in the garage. Leon's corvette was a midyear convertible, a beautiful maroon with a white top. I got out and walked over to it, afraid to touch it.

Wesker and Krauser (especially the latter) were car people. Wesker was an all out Import car fanatic, except for his red and white Ford Mustang. Krauser was the made-in-America junkie, and had once told me that the fastest car he'd ever seen was Leon's '65. And it was so, so, beautiful.

"You like cars?" Jill asked me as she got out of her car.

The sound of her voice made me jump. I couldn't focus at first; couldn't respond. Of course I liked cars; didn't she remember?

"Uh, yeah. I can appreciate them." I told her.

"Maybe I'll take you driving later," Leon told me.

"Really? That would be awesome!" I told him and then hugged the blonde man.

He hugged me back. "Come on, I want you to meet Chris." He explained to me.

"Is that your boyfriend?" I asked him. I just wanted to be sure…

Leon blushed, as Jill smiled, at the question. "Yeah, we are dating." He answered me, and then went into the room leading from the garage.

We were met by a crying Katherine and a sniffling Chris Redfield. I only knew this was him because of a few reports Wesker had left out on the table a couple of times.

Chris looked up. "Leon!" He got up, and then glanced at the TV.

The blonde looked at him. "Are you crying?" He asked his boyfriend.

"Yes, **no**, ok, well, _maybe_. It's a very…it's a very touching movie." He explained, "Oh, Jill. Hi. How's it going?" He asked the brunette.

"I'm good, I guess. Just, you know, hanging out." She told him.

Can anyone spell _awkward_?

"Chris, Katherine, this is Sherry Birkin." Leon introduced me. Katherine looked up at me.

"Hi, Sherry; I think I spoke to you on the phone last night, right?" She 'asked' me.

"Yeah, that's right. The phone, last night…" Would she make me lie for forever?

"Hello Sherry, I've heard quite a bit about you." Chris came over and shook my hand. Ohmigod, _Chris Redfield_ was touching me. I was in the same room as him! Ohmigod, ohmigod, oh _my_ god!

'Likewise' was on the tip of my tongue, but then I realized I shouldn't say that. Wesker wanted people to think he was dead. Because he was weird/psychotic/looking-out-mostly-for-himself-and -not-the-rest-of-us like that.

So instead, I just smiled and blushed.

"So who wants hamburgers?" Jill asked.

Chris looked at Leon, smiling. Oh, god, now I knew why Leon was gay (I had always thought he'd get with Claire…) God, it was because Chris was so damn hot when he smiled!

Or just breathing.

Either way, I couldn't blame Leon for being with another guy. It actually was kind of sweet and good for Leon because he deserved to be happy.

Leon blushed a lot when he wasn't trying to get out of a zombie infested area, I found out that day. After settling on getting Chinese food, the five of us plus the cutest dog ever (Amber!) sat around and watched a movie. It was different from a 'family' night with Wesker, Steve, Krauser, Manuela, Kollin, Katherine _and_ me. A lot less tension filled, so more relaxed, and it was… normal.

There was none of Kollin's phone vibrating, or Steve's angst, or Manuela getting weepy over normal mother/daughter actions like fighting. There was no Krauser constantly getting up to go do something, or Wesker trying to keep everyone in the room. And there was no me wanting to just escape. There was nothing to escape from, and I finally let myself relax.

But there was _still_ Katherine talking at the most inconvenient moments! I guess you can't get rid of everything…

But the one thing I really missed was Steve holding me during the scary/sad/romantic moments.

**Steve 3:49 p.m.**

I felt done and over with everything. I felt like Katherine had given up on us—Manuela, Sherry, and me—and then Sherry had left. I felt alone, even with Kollin and Manuela. They didn't really get it though, with everything I've been through.

I stepped up on the bridge, looking down. The Hudson Bay was dark and muddy; a horrible place to die.

I stepped down and shoved my hands into my pockets to protect myself from the gustiness.

New York City; it was supposedly one of the greatest places on Earth. All I saw was corruption and poverty; flashing lights and broken street lamps; fancy skyscrapers and run down apartments.

I needed to do something, keep my hands busy, get my mind off Sherry. I wandered around the streets. I bumped into an officer; mind you, _completely_ unintentionally.

"Watch it," the cop said.

"Look, I'm sorry, alright?" I put my hands up. "It was an accident."

"Whatever. You're just another crackhead."

_He did not just say that. _"You don't know me, so don't even pretend to." I told the jerk.

"Oh, really now? Whatcha gonna do about it, pipsqueak?" He pushed me back. I stumbled back, grabbing onto a railing in front of a house.

"I _am not_ a _pipsqueak._" I only slightly smaller than the cop; and I was a lot more pissed off than he was.

He pulled me closer by my lapels. "Prove it."

So I did. I grabbed his shirt, kneed him in the balls, and then shoved him back. While he tried to recover from that, I elbowed his back, causing his face to fall into the pavement.

By now, I'd attracted the attention of other NYPD cops. Nothing I couldn't really handle. The Nivans kid had put up a better fight than half of them.

Finally, one tazed me; now he was a douchebag. He put me into the back of the squad car and radioed the EMTs. Or something like that. I was just coming down from an adrenaline rush.

I felt like I was bouncing in my seat. God, I was in for it when I got home, but it was good then. I'd showed, what, five cops that it was not a good idea to judge a twenty-five year old by his clothes and size.

I was freaking awesome. I couldn't wait to tell…

Krauser was dead.

Katherine didn't approve of violence.

Manuela couldn't handle violence.

Kollin didn't like me.

Sherry was…Sherry.

And Wesker would be too busy kicking my ass to care.

Whatever.

"So, son," the precinct dude said.

"I'm not your son." My father had died. I'd killed him, if I was remembering correctly.

"_Steve_," he corrected himself. "You're in serious trouble."

At the word 'serious' I flipped on my sincere switch. "I'm sorry. It's just that…my brother had called me pipsqueak, and beat me," I was _nailing_ this! "And I just couldn't take it anymore." I added some eyes watering for effect.

"And how long ago was that?" The man asked me.

"Twelve years ago; I was thirteen and my foster mother wouldn't go to the police about it." I explained. "Luckily, I got out of there."

The man looked at the computer on his desk. "You still live with your uncle?" He asked me.

"Yeah; he'd been there for me a lot." I told him. "Can you call him? I need to get home," _just so I can sulk about Sherry in my room._

"Sure, Steve." Wow, my lie had been completely convincing. And now he was going to call Wesker for me? That meant all I'd have to do is wait around, regardless of a cell or not. Hopefully only about five hours or so. I could do that.

Hopefully he wouldn't be too pissed off.

The man escorted me to a cell. "If there's one thing I can do for you, it's show you that there's consequences for everything." He told me.

I laid down on the cot, my body starting to crash. I closed my eyes and let myself fall asleep.

My dream was fuzzy; in a warm way, like melted chocolate.

"_Steve, breakfast is ready!" It was Claire, in the kitchen. She didn't know that I was already downstairs._

"_Morning, babe," I kissed her on the cheek and wrapped my arms around her waist. I nuzzled my neck, and then went and tugged on her earlobe. _

"_I'm going to drop the eggs if you don't stop!" She told me, partly laughing as well._

I thought I woke up then—but I wasn't at the jail.

_I was home, on a leather couch in the living room, the smell of pizza, fries, nachos, soft-pretzels, hotdogs, and popcorn; a commonplace on a night later in the week._

_Sherry walked into the room, wearing faded, ripped, not to mention bleached, denim shorts and an olive green button up with a white undershirt._

"_Hey, sleepyhead, you made me and Manuela clean up by ourselves!" She told me._

_I sat up. "Sorry?"_

_She rolled her eyes. "Uhuh, right; like you _so_ care," she told me._

_I pulled her to me; close enough to feel her heartbeat. "I _do_ care. Now you're going to be irritable and tired for the rest of the night." I told her._

_She reached up and kissed me; soft, perfect, lips. I put my hands in her hair and deepened the kiss. She pulled away, breathing deeply, her cheeks flushed._

"_Why don't we just go to bed now?" She asked me._

_I smiled and kissed her forehead. "That sounds like a great idea." I picked her up and took her upstairs and to a spare bedroom._

And that's when I really woke up.

Alone, in a cell, in New York City.

Hating Claire Redfield.

Missing Sherry Birkin.

**Author's Note: **I hope you like yet another part of the story. Please read and review, and PM me if you have any ideas/strong opinions about the story! Au revoir!

~_HolleringHawk65_


	6. A Reappeared Memory

**Wesker 5:17 p.m.**

I missed Krauser. It had been over a year and it was finally really sinking in.

I wrapped my arms around a body pillow, pressing my face into it. Before anyone asks, we **were not** lovers. We'd been best friends and I'd gotten used to him. Familiar. And I loved him like I would love a brother.

And it felt like I'd just lost William over again. This is what I get for opening myself to people. I just get hurt and torture myself.

For being so 'smart' I never learned from my mistakes.

"Albert?" The door to my bed creaked open. I looked over my shoulder and saw Manuela standing there. She looked frail. So much for the ocean air helping her.

I sat up, trying to act put together for her sake. "Good evening, Manuela. I see you're finally home. Is everything alright?"

She wasted no time and didn't sugar-coat her answer. "Steve nearly killed a senator's son." She told me.

I felt like I'd been punched in my gut. _"What?" _

"Exactly; Steve just randomly started punching him on the boardwalk! I helped him get to his house further down and guess who we ran into? No, wait, don't bother, I'll just tell you; Rebecca Chamber and Billy Coen. Of all the people, it was them, two of the very few people still alive that know I exist. So they took me back to the house and after they all went to sleep, I went back to the boardwalk to find Steve." She explained.

"Did you?" I asked her.

"No. I don't know where he is. I mean, I think that he would have gone to find Sherry. Or something like that; maybe Claire?" She suggested.

"Maybe…"

The phone started ringing, and I reached for the one on my bedside table. "Hello, Allen Carter speaking," that name still felt odd on my tongue. When I looked into the mirror, I did not strike myself as an Allen Carter. But that's what William said my name should have been, when we had plotted our runaway, before Sherry had been born. That'd been so long before Jill…

"Hello, Mr. Carter," that was an annoying New York accent I heard on the other end. Make no mistake, not everyone I knew from New York had this accent, but whoever this was did. And it was grating. "I'm calling about Steven Carter, your nephew? He says he needs you to pick him up." The man explained.

"Who is this?" I asked as I got up.

"Deputy Kevin Harrison from the 105th precinct in NYC. Your nephew nearly got himself killed by police officers when he begun to attack them." The man told me.

Manuela had come to the edge of the bed by now. She looked at me, eyes wide. She knew the call was about Steve; I could see the worriment etched into her face.

"Alright, I'll be there soon." I tell the man.

As soon as I hung up, Manuela was asking me questions. "Is he alright? Was that the morgue? No, don't tell me that. How bad was the accident? No, don't tell me that one either. Was he hurt? Is he hurt? Is Steve okay? Can I come with you?" She asked me.

"He's fine, just got arrested. No, that was not the morgue. I told you I'm always going to be honest with you. If there was an accident, it was not severe. Manuela, I will nearly always answer a question of yours. I'm not sure if he's hurt or not. He's just in jail. Do you really want to come with me?" I finished answering her questions.

"Yes! I have half a mind to go there and beat Steve over the head with a Louisville slugger!" She explained to me.

"Alright, let me go get dressed. You should probably hop in the shower; did you just get home?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I figured you'd want to know what happened. I'll be quick, so please don't leave without me!" She said, and walked out of my bedroom.

I took a shower, the warm water running over my body. It all took me back to the spring of 1986.

"_Albert?" William walked into the bathroom._

_I shut off the water and opened the door to the stall. "Hey. What's wrong?" I asked him._

_He sat down on the toilet, placing his hands in his hair. "Al, I… I did something really bad." He told me._

_My first thought was that it had something to do with Lisa Trevor. But I saw his face, how his body was slumped forward. This had nothing to do with work._

"_It's just me, you can tell me." I told him, wrapping a towel around my waist._

"_I…Albert, I slept with Annette."_

_There was silence; eerie, _bad_, silence. "Annette _Clark_, the _new assistant researcher_?" I asked him._

"_Albert, please, don't put it that way." He pleaded with me. "You know you're my-"_

"_Your _what_? Will, what am I? A fling; a fun thing to do on the weekends?" I asked, venom in my voice._

"_You _know_ that's not true." He told me. "Annette was a _mistake_, Albert, I'm _sorry_. I care about you more than Umbrella or the t-virus or anything!"_

_Maybe I _did_ know it wasn't true. But I was upset. Upset with William because he had cheated on me with a lowly assistant researcher. Upset because I cared about William and he hurt me—the only person to ever do that._

_And, in those moments, I hated him more than anything—any person, any creature, any endless virus with no cure, more than cancer, _**anything**_—and I felt disgusted with him, on top of that._

"_She's pregnant, isn't she?" I asked him._

"_Albert…" He looked at me._

"_I'll take _that_ as a yes. Are you going to marry her?" I asked him._

"_Yes. I owe it to the child."_

"'_I owe it to the child,'" I mimicked in a higher voice. "Just get out, Will."_

"_Albert, please!" He moved forward and took my hand in his. "Albert, please don't do this. I love you!" He pleaded with me. "I love you and you're pushing me away because of one _**mistake**, _one _**horrible, **_**horrible**_** mistake**_." He explained to me._

_I wouldn't hear it. "Get out."_

_He sighed and pulled away. "I'm sorry, Albert." He walked out of my bathroom._

_I stood there, not knowing what to do. William was going to have a child with Annette _and_ he was going to marry her. The _two_ things we couldn't do together._

_I sank to the floor. For the first time in my life, tears threatened to come out. I wiped my eyes and continued to sit there._

_I got dressed eventually, dressing in black slacks and a dress shirt. I was going out tonight—I'd originally been going out with William, but I hoped he realized that that was no longer possible. But I still had a reservation and I wasn't going to waste it._

_I took my Mustang and drove fast, recklessly. How _dare_ William sleep with that woman!_

"_Hello, Mr. Wesker." The hostess said, smiling. She was young, probably about my age. Mediterranean descent, with bright blue eyes and, any sane man's weakness, rather large cleavage. "Is your friend joining you tonight?" She asked me, cocking her head to the side._

"_Not tonight." I told her. She led me to my usual table, which had a view overlooking the bay. "The usual burgundy and appetizers?" she asked me._

"_Something stronger, tonight, I suppose." William drank wine. I preferred Jack Daniels or Southern Comfort, occasionally vodka (but the last was only on my worst nights.) "And steak bites, with fried mac and cheese." I was craving something more comforting. Who knew I'd be the kind of guy to take an affair badly? I was usually level headed, but this just sent me spiraling. _

"_Scotch, brandy, or whiskey?" she asked me._

"_Jack Daniels, please," even mildly upset, I was trying to be courteous. _

"_Alrighty then, I'll leave you to pick the rest of your meal." She told me, and walked away._

_I was debating in my head between two options—both extremely pricy, but on my salary, it was nothing, when an annoyingly familiar perfume wafted to my senses._

_I glanced up and saw Annette Clark. She was dressed in a dark blue dress, and wore an ivory sweater. She also had on dark brown, lace-up, heeled boots (her usual footwear) and pieces of silver jewelry set with blue sapphires. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and in her hair she had little sparkling dark blue barrettes. _

_She sat in the seat across from me._

_She must want a painful death._

"_Good evening, Mr. Wesker," she smiled. Her lips had soft pink lip gloss on them that shimmered slightly in this light._

"_Hello," if she couldn't hear the hatred and contempt in my voice, it was because she was deaf._

_Annette took a deep breath. "Wesker," the name that I frequently had co-workers call me because 'Mr.' made me feel old, "please don't be mad with Will. This wasn't his fault. In fact, he protested but I kind of…um, seduced him." Her eyes glanced downwards, only for a second. "We were both very drunk and I know he regrets all of it. I would never have spoken of it ever again if I hadn't gotten pregnant." She explained to me. "He's so upset that you're mad at him."_

_The hostess came back. "Oh, a friend arrived." I noticed her disappointment, "What would you like to drink?" She asked Annette._

"_A Shirley Temple, please, thank you." She told the hostess. Her face was flushed…_

_I was beginning to think she didn't feel well…_

_I thought, in a very distant, sheltered, part of my brain, that it would be best for everyone if she just had a miscarriage…_

Bad Albert! Even with everything, that's _still_ _William's baby_! _I reminded myself silently._

_She closed her eyes for a second. She definitely wasn't feeling well. Her eyes opened and found mine._

"_We, William and I, both thought, _agreed_, that you should be a part of our baby's life." She explained to me._

"_What makes you think I want to be?" I asked her._

"_You don't right now, but once you see her, I'm sure you'll fall in love with her." Annette explained to me._

"_I hope you mean in a parental way," I said dryly._

_The hostess came with our drinks and appetizers. As soon as she walked away, Annette took a sip of her drink, took a bottle of Umbrella painkillers out and was about to take two pills when I stopped her._

"_They increase bleeding and it was proven that they harm fetuses." I was not going to say 'baby' because I told myself that any feelings I had towards it were because I loved its father. That was all._

"_Thanks," she told me, smiling weakly._

_I took out a small bottle of Tylenol from my coat pocket. "It's a bit weaker, but it won't hurt you." I offered it to her._

"_Thank you, Wesker." She said, taking the bottle from me. She popped two and took a sip of her drink to help them down._

_I shrugged. I would remain indifferent to this situation._

_Annette had dinner with me. I found that part of her pregnancy cravings were mac and cheese, so she had the fried appetizers as well as a big bowl of the comfort food with lobster and crab in it. I ended up having some rather simple chicken dish._

_I had also changed my drink from Jack Daniels to blackberry lemonade, somewhere along the way. As we talked, I could see why William had slept with her. She was dedicated to her job, and loyal to Umbrella. Her eyes shined when she talked about her favorite subjects, or her brother._

_Her brother had had a tumor. Developed rapidly and went undetected until shortly before his death. Annette had been thirteen and her brother seventeen. Even brushing the topic, her voice cracked. She had told me that that's why she worked for Umbrella—for a better tomorrow for people like Raphael._

_I had driven her back to the facility—she'd taken a cab to the restaurant._

"_What do you think about Sherry?" Annette asked me._

"_For…?" I asked her as I begun to brake for a yellow light._

"_My daughter; the baby…I think it's a good name. Short, cute, simple." My new found friend explained to me._

"_Mmhm," I glanced at her. "Are you alright? You look pale."_

_She closed her eyes. "Just cramps, that's all." I took the turn for the hospital. "Where are you going?" She asked me, sitting up. She couldn't suppress a groan._

"_The hospital; you're sick." I told her. "You're pregnant and you have cramps. That's a horrible combination, Annette."_

_I parked as close as I could to the Emergency Room, and then got out to help her get out._

"_Don't you remember how sick I could get from going in there? Wesker, we work at a pharmaceutical _company_! Just take me home." She pleaded. _

"_I don't trust that they won't do something to it." I told her. I'd seen Lisa Trevor—she'd been a child in 1967, when they'd started experimenting on her. What would they do to Annette and the fetus? Would they think she was distracting William from _his_ work?_

"_It?" she asked me in a small voice as I picked her up into my arms. She mewled, putting her head against my chest. "Wesker, my stomach hurts so badly." _

"_Shhh, everything is going to be okay." I told her. _**Any** feelings I had for this fetus was because of its father, _I chanted over and over in my head._

_I took her into the emergency room. There was nobody else in, and the receptionist looked up at us. _

"_Pregnant, twenty-three, no medical prescriptions, stomach pains-" Annette cried out, tugging down on my jacket. I resisted hissing as I continued. "She needs treatment, now." My voice was a strained growl._

_She whimpered as the nurse guided us to a cot. I laid her down and tucked her dirty blonde hair behind an ear. She smiled weakly, looking up at me like a kitten to a potential owner._

_The time had been 8:46 p.m. It had been March 21__st__, 1986._

_This had been the moment Annette learned the worse news of her life._

"_Ms. Clark, I have some very exciting news for you," I think we were lucky to have a female doctor. I had a feeling that it made Annette more relaxed. "You are expecting twins!" She told my best friend and now ex lover's fiancée._

_Annette looked up at me, fear plain her eyes._

_Twins._

_And I'd been worried about what Umbrella would do with one child._

**Author's Note: **Shocker! Anyways, I hope ya'll like this. Please read & review, and tell me what you like and who you want more chapters from! This may be the last one for a few days because I'm completely stuck, and I'm also being forced by my mom to work on my own books... Those have been greatly neglected since I found Fan Fiction!

~_HolleringHawk65_


	7. Monsters Incorporated

**Ada 10:15 a.m.**

I breathed in the brisk Pacific air and leaned against a bench on the pier. It was October, warmth just clinging on in California.

I walked down the pier and back to the fair that was going on, trying to relax. My leg still hurt from the glass injuries at WilPharma. But it was healing, so I couldn't complain too much.

I bought funnel cake, cheese fries, and an orange soda. I sat down inside the small restaurant I'd bought my food in and relaxed. I could finally do this, after so long of running around and working for Wesker, it seemed like it was finally done.

Thank the freaking man upstairs. It was about time…

I sighed and rubbed my calf, fingering the scar. _What am I going to do now? I've spent so long working for Wesker…I don't think I know much else._ I couldn't even go to Leon anymore. I knew Katherine was there, and I knew Chris Redfield (his _boyfriend_) was with him. He didn't need me, an added burden.

Nobody needed me.

Nobody wanted me.

I got up and threw away my trash. Instead of going back to my hotel, I stayed on the boardwalk, wondering what I should do—what I could do. I kept thinking something was going to jump out of an alleyway and throttle me, or throw me into a suddenly appearing lava pit, or rip off my head, or bit me and infect me, or kill Leon in front of me, or…

I really had to stop this.

I ran my hands through my short hair, frustrated above all.

Freedom wasn't as good as what I'd always envisioned. It was lonely. It was pointless. I almost wanted to go and beg Wesker to give me something to do, but I was sure he'd throw me out of the house in a split second.

I was walking, looking at all the happy people, enjoying the last bit of vacation-esque time before school really got into swing.

I watched as a young couple walked with their toddler in between them. I found small comfort in the fact that they must've had a lot of sleepless nights. I mean, anybody with a child must've not slept at some point in time.

Family…was pointless.

I shook my head. But it suited Steve and Wesker so much! Even Kollin had gotten used to Manuela, Sherry, and Katherine…

Somebody bumped in me, causing me to stumble forward. Somebody else caught me, and I looked up.

"Hello, you alright?" he asked me. Latin American; light green eyes; hair kind reminiscent of Steve mixed with Luis. Not to mention an undeniable accent.

"I…yeah, fine. Just lost my balance, that's all." I told him.

He smiled at me. Even though he was most likely a few years younger than me, he seemed to think he had a chance with me…Interesting… He reminded me of Luis Sera…

"Can I offer you dinner?" he asked me. "I own a place right off the boardwalk. Best fish in Trixie," he offered.

I was not good at any sort of dating. I was good at _missions_ that _involved _**faking** feelings for another person, but not _legitimate_ dating that involved dinner dates and sappy movies and why was I thinking of this when he was _only_ offering dinner?

"Sure," it couldn't hurt, right?

"I'm Carlos, by the way," he told me as we walked together, off the boardwalk.

"I'm Nikita," I told him. _No more lies (for the most part)_, I decided. _No more lying to anyone about who I was—no more fake IDs. I've given up on Ada Wong…I have to._

Carlos took me to his little restaurant. He let me choose anything on the menu and it would be on house. I found myself drinking sparkling wine and eating Maryland styled crab cakes.

"So, where are you from, Niki?" He asked me.

"Quick to give me a pet name, aren't you?" I smiled at him, trying to spare myself some time. "Massachusetts."

"You're a far way away from home, right?" He asked me.

I shrugged. "I lost my jobs and I have no friends. You can't ever be too far away from that." I explained to him.

"That's awful! So you came to California for a new start?" He asked me, leaning forward with his elbows on the table.

"I guess so," I responded.

"We have an opening for a bartending position. I know it's not the best job in the world, but it's better than nothing." He told me.

"You'd really hire me? But you don't know me…" I felt more than shock…

"So? How do you get to know someone? And meanwhile, there's a room above the restaurant." He told me. "It could just be til you get back on my feet—I'm sure you will—or it could actually turn into something." He offered.

"Thank you," I said softly, knowing I had a pink tinge to my cheeks. I felt embarrassed, but he'd been the one to offer…

So, for the rest of the day, he showed me around the bar, told me about the regulars, and helped me get my things from the hotel to the apartment above the restaurant.

I had my first shift that night, and I watched as the sleepy restaurant finally woke up—new couples, old couples, families celebrating a good math grade, families celebrating a third birthday, people drinking by themselves—and it felt like a mash pit of everyone from Trixie, California.

"A Bloody Mary, please," I looked up at the gruff voice, and I felt my heart nearly stop as I looked up at the man.

Jack Krauser was standing in front of me.

In one piece.

And very, very alive.

"And a Cosmopolitan for my friend," he added. He didn't recognize me? I guess I should be thankful.

I got to work with the drinks, and turned around and set them on the bar in front of Krauser. I was then delivered another shock as I saw Luis Sera next to him.

"And so, she thought she could just do it that way!" Luis finished whatever story he'd been telling. It'd been good enough to get Krauser smiling…

How where _they alive_? And since when were _they_ _friends?_

Luis looked up at me and smiled. "Thank you," he told me. It had to be him. He had the same blue eyes and rather cute Spanish accent.

I wanted to do a face plant.

Neither recognized me throughout the rest of my shift. Carlos came over and greeted both by name; Luis and Jack. They were regulars. All three of them were friends. And I just wanted to hide off and die in a corner.

The past would not let me go.

**Claire 7:38 p.m.**

I laid out on my couch bed in my living room. I could hear my boyfriend in the kitchen, doing whatever it was he'd decided to do tonight.

He came in and kissed me softly, tasting undeniably good. I groaned into his mouth, and then he broke away and nuzzled my neck.

I giggled as his beard tickled my neck. I smiled at him as he pulled away slightly to kiss me again.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" He asked me, lying next to me. He put his arm around, letting me get even closer and I was able to put my head on his chest.

"What do you have in mind?" I asked him.

He was silent for a moment. I wasn't sure if he had heard me, so I lifted my head and was about to ask him again when he spoke.

"Sorry, I was trying to find something that didn't have zombies, anything that would annoy and/or bore you, or women with overtly large cleavage. How about _Monsters, Inc_?" he asked me.

I smiled. "Sure, that sounds great. Do you want me to get the concessions?" I asked him.

He gave me a quick peck on my forehead. "Yeah, I'll get the movie set up."

We got off of the bed and I went to the kitchen. I put in the popcorn and searched around for the candy that we liked. After I found the Twizzlers and Reese's Pieces, I went back into the living room.

Aaron came over and was quick to get the popcorn bowl from me before I dropped it. He set it down on a tray on my couch bed, and then went back into the kitchen. He came out with a Sprite and a Coca-Cola.

"Now, wouldn't it have been bad if we'd forgotten the drinks?" He asked me, putting them on the tray before sitting down next to me.

I was quick to curl up next to him as the movie started. I listened to his heartbeat; the comforting rhythm soothed me and reminded me that Jill had actually trusted me enough to leave me alone in our house.

So I was going to try as hard as I could not to have sex with him.

A Twizzler dangled right in front of my nose. I unconsciously reached out with my mouth and tugged on it, taking a piece of it.

I cuddled against Aaron as the movie continued. He didn't push me to do anything. Maybe he hadn't thought that far ahead? I mean, we'd only really just started dating, if you could call it that…

The movie ended and for some reason, Aaron didn't move. My heart stopped for a moment, and I looked up at him. He smiled at me and just gently kissed me again. One hand went into my hair, and his other hand found its way to one of my thighs.

I found myself in his lap, our kiss deepening and not seeming to end. When it finally did, I felt embarrassed. Or angry with myself. I couldn't really tell.

"Are you alright?" He asked me, tucking hair behind my ear. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No. I mean, I'm fine. You didn't hurt me. Really, it's just…It's stupid." I told him.

"You can tell me anything. That's why we're together, remember? We get to have a completely open, no lying relationship." He explained to me.

I took a deep breath before speaking. "I just think that Jill is trusting me, by leaving me at home, and I think having sex would…" I paused to find the right words. "Kind of ruin the trust?"

He smiled and kissed my forehead again. "Alright, we won't do that tonight, if that makes you feel better." He told me.

We cleaned up and Aaron kissed me goodnight. I watched from the window as he drove away, wondering if we'd ever have a normal relationship where he could spend the night. I thought about that for a moment.

That would hopefully be soon.

**Author's Note****: **It feels like it's been forever since I've done a chapter for this, but it's only been a couple of days… I hope you like the new OC, and find a bit of humor in Claire's movie night (by the way, I do not, in anyway, own _Twizzlers_, _Reese's Pieces_, or _Monsters, inc_) and also in Ada's new job (should I keep her fake ID?) So, I think I could get another chapter out of this idea, but I still need help, so if anyone has ideas, PM please. Oh, and also review!

~_HolleringHawk65 _


	8. The Brief Happiness

**Luis 8:32 a.m.**

I woke up sprawled across our couch.

Jack was standing directly over me. I blinked a few times, my vision becoming a bit clearer.

"Good morning," I told my roommate.

"Good morning. You've been asleep a while. Sleeping off the alcohol?" he asked.

"I suppose," I told him. The twenty-seven year old shrugged and stalked off to the kitchen. Sometimes, I think he still thought that he was a mercenary or (even worse) still working for Saddler.

I got up and walked behind him. I was shorter than him by at least a head, and Carlos was always teasing me that I made Jack (ironically, apparently) look like a giant.

I just felt short.

"You need to loosen up," I told him, poking him in the back.

He looked over his shoulder. "I'm good, thanks," he replied.

"Like, maybe you should get a girlfriend." I suggested.

He'd been taking a drink of something. He now proceeded to do an action that looked very similar to choking.

"What?" he asked me, turning around.

"You know, _date_, I guess it doesn't have to be a girl if that's not you're thing, but you still _should_." I restated.

"You're insane." He responded, not giving my suggestion a second thought.

"It's _reasonable_, I have girlfriends _all_ of the time." I reminded him.

"Yeah, but that's _you_." He told me.

I brought myself up onto the counter, mentally preparing a prep talk for Jack.

"Look, you've been pretty much genetically altered by several different things and now you look like you just got out of college. So, who cares that you look a bit less muscle-y than you used to? Nobody is going to notice besides me and if they do, we have an issue anyway! One of our best friends owns a restaurant, go and meet a nice girl!" I urged him, looking at my blond friend. "Please?" I added quickly, noticing a familiarly distant look in his eyes appearing.

"Would it make you happy if I tried tonight?"

"Yes!" I smiled at him. "Very, very happy."

Jack moved closer to me, his mouth right next to my ear. I felt my heart racing as his lips moved.

"Oh, and don't get jealous, Sera, I'm not gay." He told me, pulling back and smiling.

I rolled my eyes. "Like I like you like _that_." I teased.

"You don't?" He feigned being hurt, dramatically putting his hands over his heart. "And here I thought you loved me!"

We both laughed. No…I don't think I could ever really love again.

But it was a nice thought.

Later that day, after the two of us had just lounged around all day, enjoying the weekend, Jack started talking.

"Do you ever miss it?" He asked me.

I looked up from the book I was reading. "Miss what?"

"The island; Los Illuminados," he expanded.

I looked at him, wondering if he was actually asking me that. "Honestly? No. Why would I? I was used. I'd left after my grandfather had died, there was no one there left for me." I told him. "You don't miss it, do you?"

He looked at me as if _I_ was the crazy one. "No, of course I don't. Only bad things happened there." He explained.

"Good, I was getting worried about you there for a second."

He gave me a smirk. "I'm going to get ready now…" He told me.

He got off of the couch and went into his bedroom. I sighed and went back to reading my book, even as horribly confusing as it was.

He came out a half hour later, blond hair tuft up a bit in the front. He had on a dark green long-sleeved button up with black jeans and his old boots. He looked…normal.

"You look great," I told him. "Good luck tonight, alright? And don't chicken out if a girl makes a move on _you_."

"I'll try. Don't burn the apartment down trying to cook, alright? That's the last thing I need." He told me. He was about to walk out, his hand on the knob. "Thanks, Luis." And then he walked out.

I returned to my book again, proud of myself.

I'd gotten Jack out of the house without me going with him.

**Jill 7:30 p.m.**

I sat down on the couch next to Sherry as _Jeopardy _came on. I had originally only came for a weekend away from Claire and her boyfriend, but I was staying longer.

Because Sherry Birkin was here, and she reminded me of…of the good times. Before the mansion, before the Raccoon City incident, before Wesker just went completely off the deep end.

"Jill?" Sherry said my name softly, earning my attention. Sometimes it was so hard to believe she was already twenty. She acted just like the child I used to know.

"Yes?"

"Do you ever miss him?" She asked. Her voice was so soft I'd barely heard her. It took me a second to think who she might be talking about when I remembered one of the few people that we had in common (because, besides Leon and Claire, there's only one person that could _possibly_ be alive that we both know and have memories with.)

"All the time," I admitted.

Sherry nodded and returned her attention to the TV. She rested her chin on her left knee, leaning against the right arm of the chair.

"I miss him too." She responded.

I looked away from Sherry as Leon came into the house. He walked in front of the TV, going upstairs, shouted something that sounded an awful like 'damn it!' and then came back down.

"Where's Chris?" he asked us, "And Katherine?"

"They went to go get pizza, probably about twenty minutes ago now." Sherry told him.

Leon sighed. "Damn Chris for not getting a cell phone." He sat on the couch next to me.

"They're fine, I'm sure." I told him. "What's the-" I caught myself. "Chris is a very capable guy, no matter what happens."

Leon's lips curved up slightly. "I know, it's just...I hate not really knowing what's going on."

"I know how you feel. It used to bother me so much, but now I've gotten used to it. The unknown is what keeps life suspenseful."

Leon shrugged. "Something like that."

Sherry got up suddenly, rushing into the bathroom. Leon looked after her, getting up from the couch. Even from where I was, I could hear the retching noises she was making.

"Sherry?" Leon had his hand against the now closed bathroom door. When she didn't respond, he opened the door.

Her head was over the toilet, blood dripping from her lips. Her blonde hair partially hid her face, showing only part of her lips and her noise. It looked dark, but scared at the same time. I'd seen the look on Wesker, towards the end. He always told me it was because he didn't know what he was going to do next.

Life seemed to go in slow motion. Sherry slumped against the wall, falling unconscious. I felt my lips open, but I don't know what came out. I felt like I was in a tug-of-war between the past and present.

Leon lurched forward, scooping Sherry up into his arms. "Go get your car started," he told me.

I got up and rushed into the utility room, open the garage door and hit the button. I ran out to my car, opening it and jamming the key that'd been in my pocket in the ignition. My heart beat like I was on an adrenaline rush.

_She's alright. This is a fluke. Or a nightmare. You'll wake up and Sherry will be fine. You won't lose her, too._

But that night, I didn't wake up. I drove the car as Leon sat in the backseat. All I could think is that Sherry was close to…to dying, I guess.

Somewhere in between the car ride to the hospital and dawn, Sherry was in a hospital, unconscious and hooked up to monitors. Leon was using the phone to call Chris and tell him what was going on.

I was sitting next to the hospital bed, holding Sherry's left hand. A tear fell from my cheeks, landing next to her unconscious body.

What was going on in her head? Was she alright? Was she dreaming? Or was it that empty black void?

Tears started rolling down my cheeks, faster and faster. I was so scared of losing Sherry; of losing the last part of the best time of my life. I just couldn't.

Exhaustion came over me at some point. I woke up with my head on the bed, my hand still tightly around Sherry's and hers tightly around mine. I looked up at her face, hoping to see her awake. But her eyes were still closed. She was still asleep.

I looked around the room, looking for whatever had woke me up (because something had to have, I'm a pretty heavy sleeper.)

Leon looked like he was out cold on the other side of the bed, and had been for a while. I looked at the clock next to the bed—3:29 in the morning. The lights in the room had been dimmed for those who wanted to sleep.

And then I saw him. Messy blond hair, but in a tailored suit. He was next to an IV leading into Sherry's arm. He slid a syringe into his pocket, and then looked at me. His amber eyes were completely visible to me.

I felt like the air had been knocked out of me.

"Wesker?" _no, this is just a dream…_

"Hello, Jill." He said softly. "It's been a while." His voice sent chills up my spine.

I got up, letting go of Sherry's hand as it went lax in mine. I was over to him, contemplating weather to hug him or slap him as hard as I could.

So I hugged him as hard as I could. Tears that I thought I couldn't cry came pouring out. "I've missed you so, so much."

"I'm here," he stroked my hair.

"Why?" I looked up at him.

"Sherry needed me," he explained.

"How did you know?" I asked him.

"Katherine called me." He said simply, as he let me go.

"Katherine? Oh my god, are you the baby's father?" I bolted away from him.

"No-wait, what baby?" He asked me.

"She's pregnant," I told him in a loud whisper. "She works for you?"

"_Worked_, she left. I guess because of Kollin?"

"How would I know?" I asked him in return.

He shook his head. "You wouldn't; never mind."

I stared at him, still shocked. And reality came crashing in around me. "Where have you been? I thought you were _dead_," I told him.

"Massachusetts."

"Why…why didn't you tell me?" I asked him. Why would he not let me know somehow that he was alright? That he wasn't lying dead in some third world country? Or killed by one of his creations?

"You didn't need to know." He replied.

"Of course I needed to know! I _loved_ you!" I told him.

He looked shocked. Of course he did. Even with all of his genius, sometimes his lack of common sense showed.

"No. You couldn't love me." He said softly.

"Yes, I could and I still do," I said even softer.

I got up on my tippy toes, about to kiss him. But he pushed me away.

"I have to go," he told me.

I lurched forward, grabbing him. "No! Don't you care about Sherry?"

"She's exactly why I'm leaving." He responded.

"Then what about me?"

He turned around. "Jill…I have to get back to Massachusetts. People need me there."

I didn't say anything for a moment. "You have a family. Of course…you would never wait for me. You didn't need to wait for me."

He bent down and kissed me. Pulling me close and threading his fingers through my hair. Just like he used to.

"It's not like that." He whispered next to my ear. "I've never loved a woman like I loved you. But there are people there—people who are like my family. And I have to go back to them."

"And come back to me. Please—I can't live without you again." I told him.

He bent down and kissed me again.

"Jill?" I looked over Wesker's shoulder and saw Chris—complete with bags under his eyes and a coffee in hand.

_Shit._

**Author's Note**: And there we go! Okay, so flipping back between Cali and Virginia is going to be a bit weird, but isn't fun? So, everyone who doesn't know already is going to find out Wesker is alive (that's just going to be _wonderful_, right?) Tell me what you think/what you liked/ what you hated in your review or a PM. I'd love it if you followed/favorite! _xoxoxo_

~_HolleringHawk65_


	9. Reality & a Lie

**Helena 5:47 p.m.**

I sipped my Shirley Temple, sitting across from my brother. Aaron was sitting next to Claire Redfield, his new girlfriend.

She was absolutely beautiful, and I felt jealous. More than jealous, I was _completely_ envious.

Deborah was starting to fall asleep next to me. I was jealous of that, too. Aaron wasn't saying anything about Deborah misbehaving. But if I did _one_ thing out of line, he gave me 'the look.'

My cell started vibrating. I took it out and saw a text from my boyfriend.

_Hey babe. I'm in town for the next three days. Wanna get dinner?_

My thumbs went back and forth on the keyboard. _I'm already out._

He replied quickly. _Where? I'll meet u._

_Some place right off the boardwalk. Boasts being the best sea food in Trixie. Can't miss it._

_Ok, see ya soon! : )_

"What are you doing, Helena?" Claire asked me, sound like the sweetest woman on the planet. My brother had just gotten up from his seat, I guess to go use the bathroom.

My head shot up and I stared at the kind of red head for a moment, not knowing how to respond. "Um, texting my boyfriend," I told her.

"Oh, really? That's nice."

"Mm-hm." I refrained from telling her my boyfriend was fourteen years older than me (he's thirty-four) and had a fiancée.

Yeah, I know. I don't have the greatest taste in guys. It runs in the family.

Aaron came back. I slid my phone into my pocket, trying to play innocent.

"I think we should probably get going now what do you think, Claire?" I took full note of the fact Aaron was addressing his girlfriend instead of all of the other people at our table.

"Okay, whatever you think." She told him.

"I'm actually gonna stay and meet up with some friends, alright?" I asked my brother.

"Alright, call me if you need a drive home." He told me.

I got up to let Deborah up. This was _so_ easy! And here I thought he'd be difficult…thank god for Claire, she must've made him soft!

"Bye Helena, it was wonderful meeting you," Claire told me.

"Thanks, it was great meeting you, too." I replied to her, smiling.

I walked over to the bar, sitting up on a stool.

"You look a bit young to be here," the voice was kind of deep. Sexy deep. I glanced to my left and saw this guy in a dark green shirt. His eyes were grey, green, and blue. His hair was blond, tufted up in the front_. And_ he looked rather muscular.

Not to mention he was completely freaking gorgeous.

"I'm just waiting for my boyfriend." I told him, shifting in my sit. Oh, this hadn't been a good day at all to wear a short camouflage skirt.

"Is he twice your age? Seventeen year olds don't hang out at a bar to wait for their guys, usually, anyway," he told me, swirling a paper umbrella around in his drink.

"For your information, I'm twenty." I told him.

"Really now? I would never have guessed. I honestly thought you were still in high school." He explained to me.

I sighed and shivered.

I felt a warm jacket around my shoulders. I looked up and saw my boyfriend, Isaac, standing behind me. He bent down and kissed my lips.

But as he pulled away, I glanced at the guy at the end of the bar. He looked kind of upset…and that was kinda scary.

"What do you say about walking to my hotel?" My boyfriend asked me.

"Sure!" I got up, slipping my arms into his jacket. I held his hand as we walked out.

We were walking down a smaller, darker street; almost an alley, but not quite. Isaac pushed me up against the wall of a building.

"What the Hell are you doing?" I asked him, starting to struggle.

"You're such a tease, you know that?" He asked me.

"I'm not a tease! You know I just want to wait…" I reminded him.

"How long are you going to keep me waiting?" He asked me.

"Isaac, please, not that much longer…but not here." I pleaded with him.

But he wouldn't listen. My words must've gone into one ear and out the other. I was on my stomach, my skirt either gone or hiked up. His fingers were wrapping around my boy shorts—I was trying to scream, but he kicked me.

And then he was off of me. I heard this gurgling sound, and I looked to see the guy from the bar standing over Isaac.

"I should cut off your balls," he spat, after saying something that sounded like Russian. "Don't make me regret not." And then he came over to me, bending down to help me up. He picked me up in his arms, cradling me.

I wrapped my arms around my neck and started crying into his shoulder. I was such an idiot—why had I ever trusted Isaac? What had ever possessed me to do that?

"It's alright, he's not going to hurt you. He won't ever hurt you again," he reassured me.

"Thank you," I whispered into his neck.

"You're welcome; do you want me to take you home?" He asked me.

"No," I didn't want to go home. "Take me to your place. Please, I just…" How could I explain that home seemed like the least appealing option in the world? I was afraid Aaron would just see through me and know something had happened—and he'd be disappointed in _me_.

"I don't think that's a good idea. How do you know I'm not some pedophile?" He asked me.

"Because you saved me. And it wouldn't matter because I'm twenty."

He sighed. "My name's Jack, if you've been wondering."

"I'm Helena," he set me down on my feet as we entered a condo building. We walked down the hall and got into the elevator. It took us up to the top floor (6) where the elevator doors opened to what I guess was the penthouse.

There was a Spanish guy sitting on the couch, snuggled up under a flannel blanket, reading a book. His reading glasses slipped down to the tip of his nose, and he absentmindedly pushed them back up.

"Jack, you're home earlier than I thought," he said, not even glancing up. "Run into something?"

"Not exactly," the man next to me responded. "Luis, this is Helena. Helena, this is my roommate, Luis Sera."

The Spaniard's head shot up at the sound of my name. "You brought a girl _home_? You could've told me! I would've cleaned up this pig sty of a place!"

"This is fine," I told Luis. "You should see my place, it's just horrible!" I smiled at the Spaniard.

He smiled back. "Thank you. I'm glad to see that _somebody _appreciates it. Would you like something to drink? A Cosmopolitan, perhaps?" He asked, getting up.

"She'll take lemonade," Jack cut in.

Luis paused on his way to the kitchen. He spun around, eyebrow raised. "No alcohol?"

"Helena is a year younger than America's legal age for drinking," Jack explained.

"Ah, America and its pesky rules: they're _so_ annoying." Luis said, and then went into the kitchen. A moment later, he returned with a tall glass of what looked like iced tea. "My apologies, all we have is tea cooler."

"That's fine." I told him.

Within the next hour, I found myself sitting on the couch next to Jack. He had his arm around my shoulders, and my head on one of his.

We were listening to Luis ramble on about something that had happened to him when he was younger.

"…and then, my sister slipped in the mud just to land right in the earthworms she'd been trying to avoid!" He finished his story and brought out a tray of hors d'oeuvres and set them on the coffee table.

My cell phone started ringing just as I was about to pop a potato stuffed pastry into my mouth. I took it out and saw it was my brother. I answered it, thinking he was just asking me if I'd need a ride home.

"Hey, wh-"

"Oh, thank god, you're alright. Helena, this guy called the house and said he'd been beaten up after he tried to save you from some guy!"

I looked up at Jack. He'd been here the whole time, and never on the phone…

"Was that Isaac?" I asked him. I felt the blood in my veins heating up. I was angry. How dare he go to my brother and lie about what had happened!

"Something like that. Helena, where are you? You're not at the restaurant."

"You're at the restaurant?" I asked him. "Why?"

"Because this guy told me you weren't!" Aaron yelled at me over the phone.

"Why can't you trust me!" I got up from the couch, beginning to pace. "I am fine! That guy _lied_ to you! He tried to rape me!" I broke. Reality finally came crashing in. I sank to the floor and tears started streaming down my cheeks.

Somebody took my phone from me. I think it was Luis, and it was Jack who picked me up. He carried me to a bed and laid me down. His fingers trailed down the side of my face.

"It's alright, little sunshine." It was Jack. "I won't let anyone hurt you," he said softly. "Just get some rest."

He walked out of the room and I fell asleep soon after.

**Chris 3:39 a.m.**

I stood in the door way to Sherry Birkin's hospital room. Jill was up and talking to some guy. I was so freaking tired and worried about Leon—who'd been keeping the oddest hours and refusing to sleep until I actually had to take a sedative and use it on—and not to mention Kate.

But I knew this guy; tall, kind of muscular with blond hair. His back was to me.

"And I just wanted to check up on her before I left to go home." The man told her. "It was very nice to meet you, Ms. Valentine; I hope your friend gets better." He turned around and his eyes flicked over me. Taking me in one fluid motion; like an artist.

He walked out, with Jill looking after him like a love sick puppy.

"Who was that?" I asked her.

"Umh, a doctor," she told me. "Is Kate at home?"

"Yeah, I asked Stacey to check on her if we weren't home later this morning." I responded to my ex-partner (not to mention the whole friends-with-benefits thing.)

"I'd go home, but this is Sherry…" Jill explained.

"You never explained to me how you met her. I mean, how could you have? She went to a private school and her parents worked for Umbrella." I reminded her.

She looked at me, her arms moving so she was holding the elbow in the palm of the opposite arm. She looked older than usual—her brown hair was in a loose braid, and she was wearing a navy blue long sleeved shirt with worn blue jeans and grey converse sneakers.

I guess it was the bags under her eyes. Or maybe it was the way she looked defeated; like the worst thing had just happened to her and she was keeping it all bottled up.

"I met her through Wesker," she admitted. "Sometimes Sherry would come to the office after school. I never questioned their relationship, and I didn't know she was a Birkin. She was just Sherry; the girl who I helped to do her homework."

I was too tired to ask her more sensible questions, like why I'd never met her, especially since I'd worked there longer than Jill had. Instead, I just shuffled over to the chair next to Leon and sat down.

Jill went back to her chair on the other side, and held Sherry's hand. "See you later," she said to me before I put my head on Leon's shoulder and clocked out.

**Author's Note****:** I'm not dead! (for those of you who didn't know.) *evil laugh* I'm not going to have to pull the next couple chapters out of my bum! I actually have a plan (which, for this story, is a tremendous feat.)

Please tell me what you liked (or what you didn't) in a review! I love feedback of any kind (though preferably over ten words…) Until next time!

~_HolleringHawk65_


	10. Options

**Jack 7:56 p.m.**

I left my room and went back to the living room, where Luis was on Helena's phone.

"I assure you, your sister is fine…" "No, I am not a rapist…" "I'm actually gay…" "And I find that offensive!" "She is fine and asleep." "No, we did not drug her!" "You _ass_, somebody who she _trusted_ tried to _rape_ her! How would you feel?" "Then maybe you should ask your girlfriend!" "Like I said, Helena's asleep." "No, I _am not_ _giving you_ _my address_! Jack will get her home tomorrow."

I gulped at Luis's last statement. That girl had been with Helena—the one with the reddish hair. She looked familiar, like I'd met or seen her before, but I couldn't remember. I barely remembered anything from before. Luis was always saying how different I seemed—how differently I acted—from before.

Luis continued on talking to Helena's brother. "The man who saved your sister." "Everything we're doing is completely fine with Helena." "She's fine now, asleep in our spare room." I wondered why Luis didn't say my room. Probably because he didn't want her brother freaking out. "Possibly. Have a nice night, Aaron." He ended the call and sighed.

"Relax, or you'll get grey hair." I told him.

"Eat these or they'll go to waste." Luis said and then gestured to the little pastry things.

I sat back down on the couch and popped a spicier one into my mouth. The phone started ringing and my roommate hesitated before picking up.

"Luis Sera, how may I help you?" he said into the phone. I saw his eyebrow twitch—a kinda bad sign. He handed it to me.

"Hey, this is Jack." I said into the contraption.

"Hi, this is Nikita, from the bar the other night. I found something that I think might be yours…" A feminine voice told me.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"Uh, it's a knife with the initials S and B, and M and H on the other."

I frowned. "That's can't be mine. I don't have a knife like that." But something nagged on the edge of my brain—like I _did_ know the knife.

"Are you sure? I was positive it was yours. Sorry for bothering you, Jack." She told me.

"It's fine. I hope you find the owner of that knife. I'll see you around?" I asked her.

"Definitely; bye!" Nikita hung up.

"A woman calling you about a knife is usually not a good thing." My favorite Spaniard told me. He sat down on the couch, fully spreading out.

"You look exhausted," I told my friend. I could hear a worried tone in my voice. I knew Luis could take on three days without sleeping, but I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen him asleep.

"Si, I feel like that." He replied.

"Then go catch some z's, the world doesn't look like it's gonna end tonight." I told him.

"Wouldn't that be our luck?" He mused out loud. "Buenas noches, Jack."

He shuffled off to his bedroom, and I heard his bed groan as he laid down.

I knew I was the only person awake on our floor. I sighed and turned on the TV, bringing my legs up on the couch and reclining back. I watched some old (as in still black & white) shows before the thought of sleep crept into my head.

I got up and only to remember my bed was occupied. I was about to go to sleep when I heard a shriek from my room.

Something inside clicked, and I rushed into my room, resisting an urge to kick the door down.

But only Helena was in the room, and still under the sheets. She was sleeping fine, normally. There was no way she could've been having a bad dream moments ago.

I took a deep breath, running my hands through my hair. Was I going crazy? Is that why I heard that?

I went back into the living room and laid down on the couch, my feet over the edge. I fell asleep rather quickly, for me at least.

_I was sitting on my bunk. I sat on the bottom one, next to the dresser I had to share with Him. There was a picture of Him and a girl with red-brown hair on a park bench. _

_He had on a flat cap, a black trench coat, and a white & blue plaid scarf. She had a pink jacket and a violet scarf and blue jeans. Snow was in her hair as it was lightly falling around them._

_He came in, calm and collected as usual. He caught me staring at the picture._

"_That's Claire." He told me._

_I looked up at the blonde. "Is she your girlfriend?" I questioned Him._

"_No. We just went through some stuff together." He told me. "And kept in touch. We're just friends."_

_I got up and smiled at him. "Good for you; chicks like you. This whole brooding thing must really work for you." I told him. _

_His cheeks flamed red. "Right, bye Krauser."_

"_Bye, short stack." I said over my shoulder as I walked out of our room._

_A different place. I felt older; less controlled. But more _powerful_._

_I was in a room with two blondes—a younger girl and an older man._

_The girl was on a hospital bed. The man stood next to her, checking her vitals. "Wake up, Sherry. Please." He said to her._

"_I'm sorry, I came as soon as I could" I told the man. He turned to look at me._

"_Jack! She's…something's wrong. I feel like I'm trying everything." He looked like he hadn't slept in days. "What am I supposed to do? What if she dies? I'd never forgive myself. I'd have lost the last person from the good times."_

_I went over to him. "She'll be fine. You're smart, you'll think of something."_

"_It's the G-virus. Will…he was concerned about it wearing off, someday. About every regeneration it helped with being reversed. Think about everything. Think about Sherry's pneumonia, or…or the tumor. What if they come back?" He was a wreck. "I would have failed everyone then." He swallowed hard. "What if she dies?"_

"_Wesker, don't think like that." I told him._

_A single tear rolled down his cheek. "I can't help it. After everything…"_

"_Have you tried Manuela's blood? What about Steve's, or mine?"_

_He looked up. "Your blood! That's it! Jack, please let me use it." He looked up at me with red eyes._

_I turned over my left arm, exposing the vein. "Take it; what's mine is yours." I told him._

_He took a syringe from somewhere and then extracted blood. He turned around and injected it into an IV running down to her wrist._

_A second later, Sherry's eyes opened. "Da—Wesker…" She said softly._

_He broke down, collapsing to his knees. He took her left hand into both of his. "Thank god, you're alright."_

_I turned around and walked out. Wesker had his family. I had nothing._

When I woke up in the morning, I was struggling to remember those names—_Claire, Sherry, Wesker, Steve, Manuela_—they sounded important as I jumped up from the couch and went to the kitchen, yanking a note off the fridge and scrambling for a pen.

"Claire, Sherry, Wesker, Steve, Manuela." I said as I wrote the names down in my chicken scrawl of hand writing.

I looked at the names. I remembered the names—I could put Claire to Helena's brother's girlfriend. She'd known the blonde from the first room. I'd be able to ask her later, if she was there.

God, I hoped she'd be there.

**Steve 9:14 a.m. **

"Why didn't you tell me?!" I yelled at Wesker as he walked into the room where he'd left me chained up to the bed after he brought me home. "Why didn't you tell me Sherry was sick!? Why didn't you bring me to her?!"

He looked at me. "Don't start with me, Steve. I can't take it right now."

I growled and pulled at the chains. Heavy iron that dug into my bloody wrists. "Let me go!" I yelled at him. "_Where is Sherry_?!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. I pulled with such force I thought I'd be able to yank the chains from the wall.

They didn't budge.

Wesker turned around. "Shut up! Do you realize that our neighbors probably hear you?" He asked me.

The closest people to us where five miles away. I gulped and went silent for a bit.

Wesker walked around the room, pacing; thinking.

"You saw her, didn't you? That Jill woman." I asked him. His eyes flicked up to me, hatred seeming to gleam. "That's what I thought. Hate me; kill me. Sherry isn't here to protect me anymore, and you've just been _dying_ to shove something into my chest, aren't you?"

Wesker walked closer to me. "No, I don't hate you, Steve. I hate that you're annoying sometimes. But that's not all the time. Steve, you are as close to a son that I would like to possess. I'd only kill you if something went horribly wrong."

"Well that's reassuring." I told him. "So, if I'm like your son, why am I chained up?"

"Because I don't want you to massacre a whole town," Wesker told me.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to see Sherry? Why let Kollin tell me?" I asked him.

"I didn't want him to do that. I thought that Sherry would have woken up right away, like last time. But she didn't…I think I did something wrong…maybe the blood was too old…"

"Blood? What did you do to her?" I asked, my voice getting louder again.

"I injected her with Krauser's blood." Wesker said, acting as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"And you did that before? When?" I asked him.

"Four years ago. Right after you got better."

_Right after Wesker first got Manuela and Sherry. I was still thinking like an animal then. But he wouldn't really remember that part…_

"Why didn't you stay with her? Why didn't you make sure she was alright?" I asked him.

"And stay in the same room with Leon and Chris? No thank you."

I pulled on the chains again. "It's not always about _you_! Put someone else first for once!"

"I did. That's why I _went_ to Virginia in the first place." Wesker explained. He took a key from his pocket and reached up to my wrists. He unlocked it and I fell to the ground, having been suspended a foot into the air. He knelt down and unlocked my ankles, letting the blood flow back in normally and return feeling to my feet.

I groaned and curled up into a ball, shutting my eyes. I felt pain along every inch of my body, but I ignored that. All I could think about was Sherry.

I slowly sat up. "Take me to her."

"Steve-"

"Please, Wesker, I'm asking _you_. I'm giving you to options—take me to Sherry or I'll just go by myself." I told him.

"Soon. I just have to finish cleaning up the mess _you _made." He told me.

He left the room, leaving me on the floor. I slowly got up, stumbled into the hall, crawled up the stairs, and got to my bedroom somehow.

I got dressed in an old yellow t-shirt and khaki shorts. My wrists and ankles were slowly healing, I noticed.

_One less thing to worry about_.

I laid down on my bed, and was about to sleep again (healing always made me tired, no matter what the injury was) when the door opened.

Manuela walked in. "You're hurt," she said softly, coming over to my bed.

"I deserved it," I replied. "I did put a couple of guys in the hospital," I reminded her.

She sighed and took one of my wrists into her small hands. "You men are always getting hurt. If it's not Wesker in the lab, or Krauser out in the field, or Kollin on one of his missions, it's you being _stupid_." She told me.

I chuckled, and she smiled before we both remembered something.

Krauser was gone.

She swallowed hard, letting go of my wrist. "I miss him so much," she whispered softly.

"I do, too." I told her.

"Why him? Why not _Ada_? I know that sometimes he could be really out there, and confused, but he was still Krauser! He was still the guy who saved me and Sherry more than once!" She began to cry, and all I could do was hold her.

Hold Manuela and wish that Krauser hadn't been the one who had died.

That he was out there, somewhere, and he'd be back soon; that this was one big fluke, and the stubborn, hardened, older man would show up on the doorstep, and Wesker wouldn't be mad anymore and then Sherry could come back and we all could live in a simplistic yet wonderfully chaotic life style again.

But Krauser _was _gone…

…Right?

**Author's Note****:** This chapter is suppose to be just one big example of dramatic irony (the reader knows Krauser is alive, but Steve & co. don't.) So what do you think of Nikita/Ada calling Luis and Jack? And what's up with the knife Jack doesn't remember? Not to mention, what will happen when/if he talks to Claire?

And sorry for the late updates! I just have been really busy, with stupid exams and stuff. But I have some news! I actually won a writing contest(for my district) and got third for the state for my original short story! I am definitely gonna work on my fanfics on...Uh...possibly early Sat. or late Sun. I have a friend sleeping over Saturday night...

Please tell me what you like (about the story) in a review or a PM! : )

~_HolleringHawk65_


	11. Finding Out (the Little Things)

**Claire 10:37 a.m.**

I was sitting on the couch in Aaron's house. He was pacing back and forth and there wasn't anything I could do to calm him down.

"I just want my sister back in the house! I swear, I'm going to _kill_ this _lunatic_!" My boyfriend thought out loud.

"Aaron, please," I got up and put my hand on the base of his neck. He sighed and cupped my face in his hands.

"I'm sorry, I'm just worried about her." He explained and then bent down and kissed me softly.

_Is this how Chris acts whenever something is going horribly wrong? I…I never realized that someone could care this much about another person…_

But, at the same time, I guess I did. I'd seen Chris horribly on edge when Leon was in Spain. He'd been so worried when the connection had been cut off by that psycho—I think that ordeal had been harder than any confrontations with Wesker.

I returned to my current situation.

Aaron had his face against my neck. He sighed and started to pull away, but I kept him there.

"It's going to be alright. You said the guy would bring her back, right? Helena's a feisty girl, and why would they save her just to…to force her later?" I asked him.

The doorbell rung, and I let Aaron go so he could answer it. The door opened to reveal Helena standing there, a man a head taller than her behind her.

That man…his eyes instantly found mine. They looked familiar, like I'd seen them before, but not quite in person. Like a picture…

"Hi," Helena said softly, holding an army coat closely around her. _Krauser_ was embroidered on the breast pocket.

_Krauser…Why does that look familiar? I know I've seen that before…_

"Helena!" Aaron embraced his sister, holding her close. "I was so worried about you," he told his sister.

She patted him on the back. "I'm alright Aaron, Jack made sure of that."

_Jack Krauser… Wait…_

_Leon was on my couch, looking down at the floor. Defeat was written all over his body language._

"_He's gone." My friend told me._

_I walked in from the kitchen. Leon had come to me a few days before, slowly slipping into depression. The government was helping him at all after __one of__ his _friends_ had apparently died in a helicopter crash._

"_I'm here if you need to vent," I reminded him._

"_You know, he didn't like me at first. It was Manuela who brought us together, I guess. And then…and now he's dead." Leon told me._

"_Leon, I'm so sorry." I responded._

_He scoffed. "That's all people can say, isn't it?" He asked me, getting off of the couch. He walked out of my apartment before I could stop him. I ran down the hallway after recovering from the shock. Down the flight of stairs because I knew it was faster than the elevator. _

_I could find Leon in the parking garage. But I was scared. Scare that he would do something completely and utterly _**stupid**_ and Chris would hate me if he knew I could've prevented it. Hell, the government would probably hate me, too._

"_Leon! Leon, please! Come back!" I yelled throughout the parking garage. I thought I saw a flash of black leather out of the corner of my eye. I turned around and ran after it, just to collide into a near solid wall of muscle in a faded blue denim jacket. _

"_Watch it," the man growled. He had blond hair, and crystal clear grey eyes._

_And he looked _exactly_ like the man in the picture of Jack Krauser Leon kept in his wallet._

"_Oh, god. You're alive? Tell Leon!" I slammed my hands into his chest, which I think hurt me more than it did him._

_He looked at me. "I can't do that, Ms. Redfield. This is for Leon." He told me, after helping me up. "Keep an eye on him for me, alright?" He asked, his back now to me._

_I took a deep breath. "You could do that yourself, ya know. Just tell him whatever the truth is," I begged this man I didn't even know._

_Silence for a moment; cold, steely silence. "I can't, Ms. Redfield. I have to leave. I have to get fixed." He walked away then, and it felt like he was leaving Leon in the dust with every step he took._

I snapped back to present day, in Aaron Harper's house, with his sister just returned and her savior, _Jack Krauser_, standing mere feet from me.

"Thank you," Aaron told him, his arm around his sister's shoulders. "If you hadn't saved her…"

_Who knows what would've happened to her. _I finished in my head.

"Anytime. Helena, if you ever need me, just give me a ring, you have my number." He told my boyfriend's sister.

I looked at Aaron. He was just absorbed in fidgeting about his sister.

"Air, I'm just going to leave now, alright? I want to give you two some time." I told my boyfriend.

He looked up at me. "Okay, Claire. I'll see you later, alright?" He came over to me and gave me a kiss on my cheek. "Thank you for being here with me," he whispered into my ear, causing me to shudder.

I smiled at him before I grabbed my bag from the coffee table. I opened the door and let Krauser go out first. I closed the door behind me as I stepped out.

"You," I said simply. "_Again_? You faked your _death again_?" I asked him.

He turned around and looked at me, recognition not in his eyes. "Excuse me?"

"Don't play dumb with me! You have to know…you faked your death in a helicopter I guess four years ago now. And you died last year in Spain! I mean, you _have_ to be _dead_. This is a dream that I started having at the restaurant, and I'll wake up, and you'll _still be dead_." I told him.

Still no recognition. His mouth opened. "Claire, I don't know what you're talking about. I honestly don't. I barely remember _anything_. I just remembered you _last night._"

I could tell by the way he looked at me that he was telling the truth.

"So… you don't remember Leon?" I asked him.

"I don't think so. Does he have blond hair?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't really help you, does it?"

"Does he wear with gel or loose?" Krauser asked me.

"Loose? I don't know, he doesn't put…" _gel? Blond? _"Are you talking about Wesker?" I asked him.

His eyes went wide. "You know him too? I had a dream with him in it…I just can't remember anything." He explained to me.

My cell started ringing; I pulled it out to see that it was Leon calling me. "Just give me a sec, alright? I have to take this."

"Hi Claire!" Leon said on the other end.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked him.

"I have some news for you—are you sitting down?" He asked me.

"No, but I can take it." I told him.

"Sherry's with us. She's in the hospital." Leon told me.

"WHAT!? How long has she been in _there_? What the _Hell_, Leon? _Why_ didn't you tell me? Is she _alright_?" I asked him, getting furious. No, I was already visualizing beating Leon to death with a baseball bat.

"She's stabilized now. We're taking her home in a few days; I'm sorry for not calling earlier, it's just so hectic and I was worried about her…"

"It's alright, Leon, I understand." I told him. I did. I just didn't like it.

"She'd really like to see you. She's actually been asking for you." Leon explained. "Do you think that you'd come to D.C.? I know your brother would like to see you, too."

I heard said brother say something in the background. I smiled a little bit.

In a much softer voice, "he was upset when you didn't say hi after Harvardville." Leon told me. "Alright Claire, talk to you later!"

"Bye, Leon, I'll try to book a flight," I told him.

"Thanks, bye!" He hung up.

I sighed and closed my cell.

"Leon…I _know _that name," Krauser told me, sounding so _desperate._ He put his hands in his hair. "Why can't I remember? Claire, what _happened_?"

"I-I don't know." I told him truthfully. Leon had never told anyone much about Krauser being in Spain. Just a bit about he'd been the one to kidnap Ashley in the first place. Other than that, we (Chris, Jill, Ashley, and myself,) knew nothing.

He didn't say anything. "It's…it's maddening; not knowing what happened. Not remembering who you really are; what you've done. How different you were before." Jack sighed and checked his watch. "I have to go…I hope your friend gets better." He told me. He turned to walk to his pick-up truck, but he hesitated. "What's your cell phone number?" He asked me.

I told him the number, and then he left. I had this hard, almost painful feeling in the pit of my stomach as he walked away.

**Manuela 11:30 a.m. (Massachusetts.)**

I stretched over my legs as Steve sat down on my bed.

"So what happened to that Nivans kid?" He asked me.

"Piers? Ms. Chambers patched him up." I sat up. "She asked me why I was there…she recognized me and…and that scared me. Of all the people, why her? Why was she there?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "The world has a funny way of working."

"Or the person controlling everything that goes on in our world just really sucks." I suggested.

"Have you ever realized that you and being a pessimist don't go hand in hand? Lighten up." He told me. "We only need so many bringer-downs in this house."

I looked up at Steve. His knee was up to his chin and he was looking down at me with his multi-shaded green eyes. His brown hair was still (and would forever be) slightly in his eyes.

"What are you thinking about now?" I asked him.

"Sherry," he answered. "It's not fair; that she had to leave and we get to stay."

I was silent and went back to my stretching. My thoughts wandered to my memories with Sherry. We hadn't always gotten along. I knew that Sherry was more liked; more cherished; by, well, everybody except Krauser and Kollin. Though, it's possible that that is even debatable.

Maybe not though; Kollin never liked Sherry. He tolerated being in her presence when Kate was there. Other than that, he treated Sherry with something close to cold disdain. It depended on the day.

"Sometimes that's just the way the ball rolls," I told Steve. "It goes under the stairs where it's hard to reach."

"But it's not impossible." He responded.

"Nothing is ever impossible." I got up and grabbed my purse from the top of my drawer.

"Where are you going?" Steve asked me.

"I'm going back to Ocean City. I want to go check on Piers," I explained.

"What? Weren't you _just_ saying you were nervous about Chambers?"

"She's probably not there. It's been a few days, hasn't it?" I reminded him. "See ya 'round." I told him.

"Ella, are you seriously leaving?" Steve had gotten up and grabbed my hand. I turned and looked at him.

"Yes, actually. Do you have a problem with me leaving for a few days? Remember, it's to check on the guy _you_ nearly killed!" I told him, poking him in the chest.

"Right…carry on then. I'll tell Wesker." He offered.

"You can if I don't see him on my way out. Bye Steve," I hugged him. "I'll be back in a few days."

"Be careful," he muttered into my hair. "If something ever happened to you…" he began, but stopped.

"I'll be fine." I told him, and left my room. My bag was already in the Jeep I shared with Steve.

I was about to go out the front when I felt a hand grab my wrist. I let out a yelp and turned to see Kollin.

"Where are you going?" He asked me.

"On a trip," I said cautiously.

"You shouldn't go anywhere; Wesker isn't back yet." He told me.

"I know. But here's a surprise—I'm old enough to make my own decisions." I placed my free fingertips under his, trying to pry his hand off my wrist.

He let go. "I'm sorry, Manuela." I looked into his eyes; he rarely said my full name. "Before Jack left, he made me promise to watch you."

I never knew that they had been friends like that. For Krauser to ask Kollin to watch me…he must've had an inkling that he wouldn't be coming back…

That almost made me stay. But something about Piers…that made me leave.

"Bye Kollin, I'll call later." I told the much older man. I walked out of the house, got into the Jeep, and left before I could change my mind.

**Author's Note:**

I think I might've made Manuela a bit out of character, but I haven't played the Darkside Chronicles nor am I energized enough to look up game clips. A thousand apologies if this is the case, and you don't like her that much.

Please, please, please review! I _know_ people are reading, and I really do live for reviews!

~_HolleringHawk65_


	12. The Little Things (In the Moment)

**Kate 2:31 p.m. Virginia**

I walked behind Leon into Sherry's room. An aid was just taking away her half eaten lunch as Leon sat down at his post to her right and I took Jill's usual seat to Sherry's left.

I glanced at Leon; he tilted his head to the blonde. I gulped; this was my first hospital visit since she'd waken up.

"Hi, Sherry," I said to her.

She looked to me, head cocked slightly. "Kate," her voice was the softest I've ever heard it. "Tell them Dad isn't dead, please!"

Leon gave me his worried look. I wasn't that worried, though. I knew she wasn't talking about her _father_, William Birkin. She was talking about Wesker; he was her dad, not William. He was some person she barely remembered.

"Kate?" Sherry had taken my hand into hers. "He's not dead." She reminded me. "You can tell Leon that, you could call Dad! He could pick me up…I know you have his number. How else could he have saved me?"

_Damn you, Sherry. Go and spout all of this off…right in front of Leon, too. What are you thinking?_

"Sherry…" I looked straight into her light green eyes. "He can't come. Now, why don't you help me narrow down my list of baby names?" I asked her, taking out a notebook I had gotten to put down all of my 'baby' ideas.

"That's Kollin's, and your, baby in there, but he doesn't even know!" Sherry told me, taking her hand away from mine.

"Kate, what is she talking about?" Leon asked me. "I thought the two of you just met!"

I got up, my legs shaking and my head spinning.

"Tell him, Kate! Tell him about everything! Paying for your faults, aren't you?" Sherry asked me.

I swallowed hard, not knowing what to say. What had happened to her?

_Sherry changed, Sherry changed_; the phrase was repeated over and over in my head. I felt myself collapse, and strong arms pick me up nearly right away.

"Relax," I felt the man's breath against my neck as he talked to me. "It's okay, Katherine."

I couldn't see. I tried to open my eyes, but I felt like I just hit my head against something very hard, and the light hurt.

I was laid on a bed, and I felt the man's hand around mine. _He knows me?_

I finally could open my eyes. I'm not sure how long had passed, but it felt like a long time. The first thing I saw was that the TV (which was on CNN) said a day had passed and it was 10:39.

I turned my head, half-expecting to see Leon, just _maybe_ Chris, when I heard a soft breathing sound. It wasn't quite a snore, but it wasn't normal breathing. I could count on two hands the number of times I'd heard that noise.

My heart began to panic, my stomach felt like it was in knots (or was the baby starting to kick? Was six months to early?), and I was sure that something was just going to explode or pop or fall off as I turned my head.

Of all the people (and in those moments, my list had grown from Leon and Chris, to Leon, Chris, Kollin, various people who could possibly want me dead, and my ex-employer,) I hadn't really thought that Wesker would be in the chair…

…Next to my hospital bed and _not_ injecting some unidentifiable liquid into my IV.

Well, this world has a funny way of working…

I sat up a little bit straighter, which produced a very sore feeling in my lower back. The bed creaked and Wesker slowly opened his eyes.

"Katherine," he said warmly. The kind of warm that I always thought I would only hear directed towards me when he was about to bludgeon me with a rather sharp object.

"Hi," I managed to choke out.

He reached out and took my hand is his. He turned it over so that the palm was facing the ceiling. "Kollin told me the two of you had your ups and downs. But I don't think he'd ever thought that he'd get you pregnant and that you'd leave because of it." He told me, his contact covered eyes meeting mine.

"I didn't leave because I got pregnant," I said softly. "I left because he wouldn't be able to love this child."

Wesker raised his eyebrows. "And why did you think that?"

"His life is consumed by the work he does for you," I told him. "Our child would've been a nuisance to him. Or he'd think that some would be able to use it against him or I don't know, Wesker! Why do you think I thought that? He left every single person on his team to _die_ in Raccoon City!"

Wesker flinched. Raccoon City was his personal touchy subject. His best friends (William and Annette) had both died there, not to mention he considered the nuking of the town a large waste of resources (which could possibly be considered Kollin's fault; but mainly William's…)

I didn't say anything for a moment. "Did you tell him?" I asked.

"Not yet. But, Kate, I'm not going to keep this from him. If he asks about you, I'm _going_ to tell him." Wesker told me. It sounded like a warning.

I clutched my stomach. "Can you help me tell him?" I asked.

Wesker smiled. This was the nicest he's been to me in a _long_ time. "Of course," he gave my hand a friendly squeeze, before he stood up. "Now, please excuse me. I have to explain something to Chris and Leon before one of them decides to call the federal government."

I took a deep breath before lying back down. I felt my heart thumping; and I had my hand over my stomach.

That's when I felt a tiny little thump against my fingers…I closed my eyes. My baby was moving…

Kollin's baby.

**Chris 11:03 p.m. **

I watched Wesker walk in. I knew the moment I had seen him pick Kate up yesterday that it had been him and not a doctor the other night with Jill. But I hadn't had the energy to fight with her.

Leon took my hand when I moved from the wall. I could justify trying to stab Wesker to death with a scalpel or a syringe. I had no reason to not do it.

But Leon looked at me with this rare, pleading look in his grey eyes. "He saved Sherry," my boyfriend reminded me softly. "And while you might not care that much about her, I do."

I wanted to start yelling at Leon and tell him I started caring about Sherry, too, because she reminded me of my sister. But I was not going to give Wesker the pleasure in seeing me upset.

"Fine," I grumbled. I took my hand out of Leon's and returned to leaning against the wall.

Wesker glanced at me. Not a threatening look, not a look that had _prepare to die_ plastered over it, no zombies to try to rip me apart (or some other mutated humanoid-ish creature). It felt weird; almost _normal_.

If Wesker wasn't some crazy genius whose death we had all (I thought) had come to terms with.

"Before anyone goes on a rampage, I want to make something very clear. I am done with releasing creatures and world domination. I came here to make sure Sherry and Katherine were alright. I had no initial intention of staying."

_There's that word_, I thought numbly. "And what made you stay?" I asked him.

"If you must know, it's for woman I care deeply about." Wesker said, rather reluctantly. "She asked me to stay."

"Kate asked _you_ to stay?" I asked him, almost choking at something in my throat.

This cocky smile appeared on Wesker's lips. I felt my heart starting to shrink and shrivel up inside of me. "No, Jill did."

I felt the blood drain out of my face. "You're lying." I told him.

"Now why would I lie for Jill? She's capable of doing that herself." Wesker informed me. "Now why don't you run home? I think your sister's flight is coming in soon; isn't it?"

I fought the urge to lunge at him and start ripping his throat his out with my bare hands. That didn't stop me from repeatedly thinking about it in my head.

Leon looked at Wesker. He knew a threat when he heard one.

Sherry started waking up; the doctors had finally decided to sedate her after Kate collapsed. To be honest, we were all surprised that they had been working this long. I mean, she had the _G-Virus_ in her. Of all the people, we had thought that she'd wake up an hour later. It was around thirty-two right now.

The first thing she saw was Wesker. He was like a doting father—he was over by Sherry's side. He looked like he just wanted to pick her up and hold her against him, the way he bent over her and hugged the blonde to him.

She weakly hugged him back, putting her face against his neck. "You…you really did come back." She said to him.

He pulled away and kneeled down next to the bed. "Sherry, I'm so sorry I ever let you leave. If I hadn't…maybe you wouldn't…"

Leon finally spoke. "You can't think like that. There was four years in between Raccoon City and when you…uh, when Sherry started living with you. You have no idea what they did in between that time, anything could've affected the G-Virus."

I'd never heard Leon speak like that—practically saying the government (_his_ government; that _he_ worked for and _he _was always saying that the government wasn't responsible for _anything,_) had done something harmful to Sherry.

"Are you leaving again?" Sherry asked my blond nemesis.

"Not right away. But I have to check on everybody at some point. And Kate will have to go with me, but we'll come back." Wesker tucked her hair behind her ear. His actions seemed so much like a father's; so filled with love…so _human_.

I rubbed my forearms, slightly annoyed. He seems human; normal; fatherly; protective.

And it's all because of _Sherry Birkin_. It's probably bad that sometimes, I want to snap her neck? I think I only didn't because Leon and Claire care about her so much…and Jill, I guess.

Where _was_ Jill?

_Damn her, for leaving me with her crazy ass boyfriend (I think, if not, then, at the very least, an ex-lover!)_

"I'm gonna go pick Claire up from the airport," I told Leon.

He got up and hugged me. He pulled back and kissed me for what seemed like the first time in days. I couldn't pull away for a few moments. I loved it when he started to tug at my bottom lip, as my mouth opened to accommodate him.

He pulled away, a rather lustful expression in his eyes. "Tell her I say hi, please. I love you," he added.

I smiled. "I love you, too." I didn't realize that it had been Leon who had finally said the words first—he usually said it after me, and never in a public place; especially in front of two (kinda) crazy blondes—until I was in my truck and halfway to the airport.

And I couldn't stop smiling after that.

**Author's Note****: **Yay! Wesker finally broke and saw Sherry and (kind of) announced he's with Jill! Kate is going to tell Kollin and can anybody (who might still possibly be reading this) guess on _who_ Kollin is?

Until next time (enjoy your life)!

~_HolleringHawk65_


	13. Something Missing (Hoping for a Reason)

**Claire 2:30 a.m. Virginia**

I was surprised when I saw Chris waiting for me in the terminal. He looked tired, but he smiled when he saw me.

And this clearly disappointed look swept over his face when Aaron stepped behind me, putting his arm around my waist. He had asked to come, after he knew Helena was alright. I think he had begrudgingly agreed that if there were any problems, she'd call Jack…

I fiddled nervously with the strap of my carry-on. _Jack Krauser; to tell Leon or not to tell Leon._

"Hey, little sister," Chris came over and hugged me tightly. I hugged him back, pushing my face into his chest. I took a deep breath of that specific Chris smell before pulling away.

"Hi," I hugged him back. I wish I could just unleash every single worry I had onto my brother, but I knew that wouldn't be a good idea, especially since Aaron had just left his sister in a town with one of my major worries.

"Hello, I'm Chris," my bear of an older brother introduced himself to Aaron.

"Hi, I'm Aaron. I've heard a lot about you," he told him, giving him a firm handshake.

Chris gave him a smile I had seen him give kids who'd give me a hard time at school, that—_oh, really? Let me judge you on what I know_. It gave me the suspicion he'd looked up Aaron on every single data base he could (of which many he had a very wide range of access on.)

"So let's get you two back, okay? I didn't know you," he tilted his head in a nice manner to Aaron, "were coming, but I guess it's a good thing I drove Jill's car, right?" He smiled at us.

I had forgotten Jill had taken a cross country road trip, starting two weeks ago. She told me she needed time (and, subsequently, space) to think. So I'd let her go…

That drive to Leon's house (I would never think of it as both Chris's and Leon's, because I was rather sure Chris still owned the house I lived in back in California,) was one of the most awkward drives I've ever had. Aaron tried to talk to Chris, but my brother was driving and his mind was clearly on something very different.

My boyfriend relaxed in the back seat of the car. Our stuff was in the trunk, and we were sitting next to each other. He smiled at me, and I (being the good girlfriend) smiled back.

He was soon asleep. I couldn't blame him; he'd been up, trying to sort little quirks out with Helena and Deborah before we left. I couldn't believe that he'd actually come with me. I'd asked and he didn't even hesitate. I guess he just really needed to get away from California.

"So what's up?" I asked my brother, placing my hands on the chair and leaning forward.

"Nothing 'cept the sky," he told me.

"Is it something with Leon?" I asked him, concerned.

"No." He said it right away. "It has nothing to do with Leon. We're good."

"Jill?"

Slight hesitation; "A little bit."

"Sherry?" I asked, knowing the two had a bit of a history.

Chris pulled over into a gas station. He got out and filled the car up. When he opened the door to get back in, a cold wind blew in. I shivered and rubbed my hands again, looking at my brother.

He had this dark look on his face. He looked the complete opposite of happy. I'd thought that he'd be happy to see me; happy that I wasn't mopping around about Steve (_still_, because I had been before Leon's mission to Spain last year) and that I'd moved on, with a really nice guy, too.

"It does have something to do with Sherry, doesn't it?" I asked him.

He reached over the console to the glove compartment, where he got out the gasbook. He wrote down the mileage, where he was, how much the gas was per gallon, how much he'd gotten, and the date.

"_Chris_?" I was getting irritated.

He sat down in the driver's seat and sighed. "I didn't want to tell you, but I guess I should. Claire, Wesker is alive," I wasn't that surprised, "and he came to visit Sherry. He's also with Jill, I guess."

"Oh," and then I fell silent, sitting back in the seat.

_He's going to take Sherry away before I even get to see her again…has he been the one keeping her this whole time? Did she want to stay with him? _

_And what about Jill? Does she, is she, going to move out and with Wesker? How could she do that after everything he has done? I mean, if it wasn't for _Wesker_, so _many_ things would be different. Raccoon City would probably have been around still! And she's with him?! How _dare_ she!_

_But Jill's smart. And she's strong. She wouldn't be with Wesker if she didn't care about him. He can't have forced her to do anything. _

_I just don't get it…but it feels like Chris is still holding something back…_

He drove in silence. And I guess that's when it got awkward again, with Aaron's noticeable (cute) sleep breathing, my thoughtful silence, and Chris's own silence, which was most likely fueled by thoughts of killing Wesker.

But it's like he can't die. How much more does it take for a man, regardless of superhuman capabilities or not, to just die and rot?

Before I knew it, we were pulling into Leon's driveway. The house was empty and Chris got out and entered the code in to the garage pad.

"Babe," I gently shook Aaron's shoulder. He jolted up and then smiled at me.

"Hi Claire," he just had the sweetest smile on his face. I wanted to lean in and kiss him but Chris opened the driver's door and popped open the trunk.

I gave Aaron an apologetic smile before I got out. The air was so _cold_ here. I rubbed my arms through my shirt long sleeved.

The three of us brought our luggage into the house. We were only planning to stay for less than a week, so we each only had one bag, plus a couple boxes of my shoes…and a gun in a boot box…

We walked into the house, Amber sliding across the kitchen floor after Chris had turned on the kitchen light. She was instantly barking at Aaron, causing him to move back. He wasn't afraid, but he was wary of the dog.

Chris got her to stop by saying a command that was definitely not in English. She sat down in front of Chris and wagged her tail, causing it to go _thump-thump_ against one of the cabinets.

"So you guys can sleep in my room." Chris told me. I could feel a protest building in my throat, but I stopped. I looked at Aaron to see that his cheeks were flushed pink, which actually looked kind of…sexy.

"Where are you going to sleep?" I asked him.

"Leon's room; he's never here anymore anyway." Chris told us.

Aaron cleared his throat. He knew my brother was dating Leon, and he was fine with that, but it's still awkward. I guess I'm used to it, but I never thought about how other people who meet my brother and my best friend would feel.

Chris helped us take up the stuff, and I groaned when I saw the time on the alarm clock next to the bed. In big, red, numbers, was the reminder that it was after four.

In the morning.

Somebody was trying to kill me.

Instead of taking a shower, after Chris had walked out, the two of us practically fell onto the bed. Aaron was soon asleep, but I was lying there, awake, for what seemed like forever. I kept thinking that somebody (maybe Wesker) was going to come in and slit my throat.

Eventually, I fell asleep, using Aaron's chest as a pillow.

**Ada 10:30 a.m. Trixie, California**

I was cleaning the bar top when two of the girls from my first night working here came in. One had definitely brown hair, dark and right below her shoulders. If I was remembering correctly, this was the girl Krauser had started talking to. Today, she was wearing much more conservative clothing; jeans and a t-shirt with a rock band on it.

The girl who I assumed was her sister had dirty blonde hair that was cut short, but longer than mine. She was wearing a light pink dress.

The older girl (the one with darker hair) came over.

"Hi, are you guys serving breakfast still?" She asked me.

"Yep, what do you want?" I asked her. I wanted to see what about her had intrigued Krauser. I remembered him as rather stoic, no nonsense, and (above all) a very loyal servant to Wesker. So what about this teenage girl had made him…act different? What had happened to Krauser? I mean, he didn't recognize…

Oh

Dear

God

Krauser didn't remember anything! That's why he didn't say anything to me before! If he didn't remember me, that means he probably didn't remember Wesker, and that's why he never went back to Wesker and that's why Wesker's depressed and why he fired and me and…

I stared at the girl. She was giving me this look that told me I had completely zoned out.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" I asked her.

"Two cheddar omelets, one with sausage and ham and the other with lobster, please." She re-told me. "And one large cranberry juice and one apple juice." She added.

"Okay, that'll be right out." I smiled at her and went into the kitchen to repeat her order. I then went and got out the juices.

I came out and saw this guy walking in. I'd seen him the other night, too. He'd come and walked the girl out, and Jack had left shortly after, too.

He went over to the girls. The lighter haired looked up at him, smiling.

"Hi, Isaac!" she said in a singsong voice.

"Hello, Deborah," he said in reply. He leaned in to kiss the top of the darker haired girl's head, but she moved away.

I found myself moving closer to the three.

"Helena, come on. I'm sorry," he told her.

She got up. "Go away before I call the police." She told him.

I had a better alternative. I went over to the phone and dialed a number I had already memorized.

"Hello?" I heard a sleepy Spanish accent.

"Hi, this is Nikita—"

"Again? What do you want?"

"To talk to Jack again. This is really actually important." I told him, glancing over at the three. Isaac was now reaching for Helena's hand. I could tell she was panicked, even if the other two couldn't really.

"Hello, this is Jack Krauser."

"Yes, I know! The girl you were talking to the other night, this guy is here, bothering her. He won't leave her alone and-"

"I'm on my way. I'll be there in a few minutes. Please watch them." There was a glimmer of the Jack I knew. Straight to the point, prepared.

And he was _still_ courteous.

"Okay," I told him.

He hung up and I put the phone back on its cradle. I watched Isaac reach for Helena, and I walked over as his hand was about to make contact with her cheek.

"Stop it," I grabbed his wrist.

He swung around and tried to punch me. I ducked and kneed him in the balls. I grabbed his shoulders and slammed him into a table, causing it to fall onto its side.

The door opened and I heard Helena gasp. "Jack?" She whispered.

I looked over and saw Krauser—the hardened soldier who almost killed Leon—take Helena into his arms. He brought her to his chest and whispered her into hair.

I was looking at the two, so enraptured by the…the soft emotions that were between them, that I didn't realize that Isaac was reaching up. He grabbed my ankle and pulled. I fell onto my back, letting out a sharp cry.

I tried to sit up, but pain was running up and down my back. Oh god, did I finally break something?

"What the Hell is going on in here?" I recognized the voice as Carlos's. I looked up and saw Carlos and Luis standing in the doorway.

"Deborah, call 911. Something's wrong with Niki." Helena told her sister.

Carlos kneeled next to me. "Are you alright? Can you talk?" He asked me.

My vision was going double. And I could've sworn that I saw somebody else behind him. That certain blond that I'd had not seen enough of.

"Leon…" I said weakly before passing out.

**Author's Note****: **Is it stupid nobody knows she's Ada? I'm playing with the idea a little bit…I dunno. I guess you'll just have to wait and see?

Please review!

~_HolleringHawk65_


	14. Changes (Body & Mind)

**Sherry 11:17 a.m. Virginia (The Hospital)**

I felt panic shoot through me as I woke up. I sat straight up, my heart racing.

Wesker was there suddenly. "Tell me what's wrong," he said to me in a soft voice.

"Ada?" God, what had I been seeing? I could've sworn I'd just seen her in front of me, getting thrown into a table. I remember hearing the wind just getting knocked out of her-a voiceless scream.

I'd held that girl while two Spanish people rushed over to her. I knew that had been real. There was no denying it.

But it hadn't been me? It couldn't have been, I'm here, to be discharged from the hospital later today.

"Ada?" Wesker repeated, frowning. I knew then that Leon wasn't in the room, because I think he'd be grilling me like the federal agent he is.

"She was hurt, she needs help…" I was starting to get up, but Wesker stopped me.

"Sherry, I'm sure she's fine and you were just having a bad dream." He told me.

"No, I wasn't! I smelled everything, saw everything, felt everything! I felt emotions shoot through me. She's hurt and what if she's dies and I didn't get to say good-bye?" Ada had been there, despite our differences. When she was home, sometimes we'd sit on my bed and just talk. She was there when Jill couldn't be, and when Wesker didn't want to be; after Raccoon City, of course.

I didn't know I was crying until Wesker wiped my tears away. He was kneeling next to my bed again. "It's alright. If it makes you feel better, I can send Kollin to look for her." He told me.

"Please?" I asked him. Kollin would find her. He never failed.

"I'll go make the call right now." Wesker kissed my forehead. "I'll be right back, okay?"

I nodded weakly.

_Ada is fine. Ada is fine. Ada is fine_; this became the chant into my head until Jill walked in.

"Hi," she said, smiling. "Are you alright? You look like you've been crying." She asked me, sitting in her chair.

I wiped my eyes again. "I'm fine, now. Where's Leon?" He hadn't left my bedside since I got here.

"He had to go to work. Even men who should be recognized as heroes don't get unlimited vacation days." Jill explained. She looked around. "Wesker-"

"Didn't leave," I finished with a smile. "He's just calling Kollin." I explained.

"Oh, okay then." I guess she didn't know who Kollin was. I wasn't going to tell her though, because I felt like that would be a very bad idea.

"Are you and Wesker back together?" I asked Jill, as if I were still a child and I'd heard them have a fight (which actually only happened once. Wesker didn't like to fight with her. He, after all, loved Jill.)

She blushed. "Yeah, I think so. We haven't really fully talked about it yet." She told me.

"I hope you guys get back together." I responded. "Then we'll get to be a real family."

Jill didn't say anything for a little bit. "What about you? Do you date anyone?" She asked me.

"No," I instantly said. That was a ridiculous question. But I thought about it a little bit longer. "There is a guy I like, but…"

"But what?" Jill pressed.

"I think he likes somebody else." Steve was always with Manuela. They had these little inside jokes and she'd see me and laugh like a school girl. And he never stopped her. Despite that, I loved Steve. We'd shared a few kisses, but he never pressed for more and I didn't want to chase him off. So we were stuck as platonic friends.

"Sherry, nobody could not like you." Jill told me. She gave my hand a squeeze.

I smiled a little bit, but my mind was on Steve and Manuela. Where the two of them together in bed right now? Did Steve not give me a second thought? Did he love her?

"I want him to love me," I said out loud before I could stop myself.

"I really hope you're talking about me right now." I looked up as soon as I heard that voice. My face broke out into a smile as I saw Steve standing there, looking absolutely perfect in a muted green long-sleeved shirt and jeans.

"Steve!" I would've gotten up but my IV prevented me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jill's eyebrows arch. But I didn't care because Steve came over to the other side of the bed and hugged me, bring my face to his chest.

"I've missed you so much," he said into my hair.

"I've missed you, too." I said softly.

"I want you to know that I thought I was going crazy." He pulled away and took my face into his hands. "I love you so much, I felt like a shell without you."

I held his wrists, not knowing what to say. I guess the truth. "I was scared that you'd forget about me. That you'd jump into bed with Manuela the first chance you got."

"For being so smart, I don't get how you get these ideas." He bent down and kissed me. "Manuela's like my little sister."

I smiled and leaned forward to whisper something clever, but I was caught in the middle of opening my mouth.

"Steve?!" I knew the voice instantly as Claire Redfield's.

Steve pulled away, clearly surprised.

"You're alive? I watched you _die_!" She said hopelessly.

He said nothing for a few moments. I couldn't read the expression on his face now. It was the blank face that he'd mastered after living with Wesker and Kollin for over seven years.

"And here I had hoped _you_ died. I guess we don't get what we wanted, eh?" His voice was cold. "I was alive. My heart had stopped, yes, but I was alive. And Wesker had taken me in, he had _fixed_ me."

I knew that Steve hated being reminded of what had happened to him. How long it had taken for him to become normal again; controlled. I hadn't been at Wesker's home long before Steve had been allowed to walk around and we'd been introduced. I had, however, heard these sounds coming from the basement in those first few days.

Nobody had ever really needed to tell me that they'd come from Steve.

But, now, looking at him, I saw that his muscles were tense. Anger and hatred were clear in his eyes. He looked like he wanted to murder Claire, but something stopped him.

I looked at Claire. I was worried for her because I knew that he harbored deep, horrible feelings for her, for whatever reason.

If that was the case, why had Steve come? He had to have known that Claire would, too.

"Hi, Claire," I said softly.

"Hi, Sherry." She skirted around the edge of the bed to stand next to Jill. "How are you?" She asked me.

I smiled. "I'm good." I told her. She bent down and hugged me.

"I'm so sorry that I didn't fight harder for you," she whispered.

"It's alright. Everything turned out good in the end." I explained to her after she'd pulled away.

"Yeah, I guess it did." Claire said, glancing at Steve. I could tell that she was still in denial. I hadn't been there when Steve had 'died,' but I guess it must've been pretty bad for her to act like this.

I just hoped there weren't any more surprises in store for us.

**Piers 11:23 a.m. Ocean City, New Jersey**

I was lying on my couch with one of the balcony doors opened to let in the brisk ocean air. My rib hadn't been broken (thank god) but it still hurt like a bitch.

There was a knock downstairs, and I begrudgingly got up and walked down the stairs to the door. I opened it to find Manuela standing there. She had her hair braided and she was wearing jeans and a faded navy blue shirt.

"Hey," I said, moving back to let her in.

"Hi Piers," she said, smiling, as she walked. "I guess I just wanted to check on you."

"Oh, I'm fine. Just going through the motions." I told her. "Just a little worried that somebody carried you off in the middle of the night when you disappeared." I told her.

She blushed, looking down. "I didn't mean to upset you. It's just that you seemed like you were in good hands."

"I was. But they had lives to lead and left." I explained. "But let's not think about that. There are plenty of other, finer, things to talk about."

She was so much shorter than me, I realized as I looked down at her. She only came up to my chest, and seemed even shorter as she looked down.

"I guess." She muttered.

"Is he abusive?" I blurted out.

Her head instantly shot up. "What? Who?" she asked, frowning.

"Your boyfriend; you know, that guy who kinda beat the crap outta me." I reminded her.

"Steve is _not_ my boyfriend!" Her cheeks were a furious pink. "And if you ever imply again that we are, I will hit you!" She told me.

I smiled. "So you don't have a boyfriend?" I asked her.

"What? No. Of course I don't. I don't get out enough to." She confessed to me.

"You don't need to get out a lot. All you need is to walk into a busy restaurant and people will on you like ants to sugar." I told her.

She raised her eyebrows. "Did you just metaphorically say I was sugar?" Manuela had this serious look in her eyes.

"Yes? It's a compliment." I explained.

"Oh. I didn't get that." She went back to being shy.

_So she like being provoked? I don't get it…I don't get _her_, but at the same time…she's all I've been thinking about since Rebecca and Billy told me she was gone._

"Do you wanna stay for dinner? Or I could take you out. I'll pay," I offered her.

She looked up at me. "Yeah, that sounds good. And, for the record, Steve is not abusive. He's just going through a rough patch." She told me.

I stepped closer to her, causing her to flinch. "Why are you so defensive of him? You've seen what he can do."

She didn't say anything as she stared into my eyes with her own grey/blue. They showed defiance and resilience.

"You want to know why I'm _defensive_ of my _friend_? If it wasn't for him, I probably would've committed suicide by now! He's held me together when all I've wanted to do is fall apart. Without him, I wouldn't be here today." She told me, moving to leave.

I grabbed her left wrist, pulling her to me. I didn't mean to be harsh to her. She seemed frail, but, at the same time, hardened by something that had happened for her.

I tilted her head up. I gave her time to pull away. But she stayed in front of me as I bent down and kissed her. My hands ran through her hair. Her hands laced behind my neck. I was moving backwards to the bedroom downstairs, breaking our kiss just to take off our shirts.

In front of the larger of two beds in the room, I pushed off my jeans and teasingly took off hers. Our mouths found each other's again. Nobody would ever understand what I felt in those moments—in those _hours_ that came.

It was a few hours later when we finally got out of bed. Somewhere along the way, we'd moved from downstairs to the master bedroom. We took a shower together, and then I took her downstairs. I couldn't keep my hands off of her.

Manuela giggled as I kissed her shoulder. She leaned into me, tilting her head up. We kissed again, slower than before (for the most part.)

She sighed as I pulled away and placed my head on her shoulder. She was making scrambled eggs on the stove; all I could do was watch her because I was helpless with anything except for toast (these eggs had been purchased by Rebecca in the hopes that I did, in fact, know how to live by myself.)

After breakfast and the clean up, we were back in bed. She was resting her head on my chest as my hand stroked her thigh. She sighed again, muttering something in what I assumed was Spanish (which I had next to no hope of understanding because I had taken German and Latin back in school.)

I kissed her forehead and relaxed for the first time in months. I was surprised I hadn't broken or pulled something yet. But I think that it would've been worth it.

I smiled as Manuela raised her head and started kissing me again.

This was going to be a long, long, (few) days.

And utterly worth it.

**Author's Note****:** For those of you reading, I did alter Piers' age to older then Manuela (he's actually suppose to be a year younger, according to the RE wiki.) And in the previous chapter (or Claire's last POV) I altered Jill's vacation from the weekend to the current cross-country road trip.

I hope you've enjoyed the latest chapter, & please review!

~_HolleringHawk65_


	15. Remembrance & New Knowledge

**Jack 14:53 Trixie, California**

I sat next to Nikita's hospital bed. I felt like I owed her something, after she saved Helena.

I didn't know what to do about Isaac. I had wanted to kill him, but Carlos and Luis talked me down, and he was currently in a local jail cell.

And here Niki was, possibly paralyzed. The doctors wouldn't know until she woke up. It was my fault, because I hadn't killed Isaac before. He _deserved_ to die. I remembered him, from _something_. He was evil. He had done something, and I couldn't remember what, but I remember _hating_ it…

I flexed my hands. I didn't know what I was going to do. I didn't know if I should be with Helena, or if I should stay here with Niki.

I looked at the young woman with short black hair. She looked familiar…

I put my hand in hers and squeezed. I was surprised when I felt a squeeze back.

"A long time ago…you'd killed me." She looked at me and smiled. "You've changed, Krauser. Tell me why." Her voice was velvety soft.

She knew me. I didn't know why, but she thought I was an evil person. I found myself flinching at the thought. I guess I had changed…

I shrugged. "I died." I told her. "Or, that's what Luis told me."

A smirk fell on her lips. "I know that part. Tell me what happened after that." She squeezed my hand again. "Please."

"Trixie, I guess. I love it here." I replied.

"Loving a place doesn't mean you've changed." She coughed. "France didn't change me, or Greece, or Italy, or Massachusetts, or…" her voice drifted off as she blushed.

"I think they all changed you." I stood up. "You just haven't realized it yet." I was about to leave when she weakly called out my name.

I turned around and looked at Niki. She'd sat up straight in her bed, causing me to breathe a sigh of relief. She wasn't paralyzed.

"Don't go. Please." She looked at me with her grey eyes starting to water. "You're like all I have left. You, of all people. And you don't even remember me."

I was back at her side. "Oh, god, don't start crying." I pleaded with her.

That produced more tears. "You're not suppose to be nice to nice to me. You hate me and we've tried to kill each other countless times." She told me as I found myself sitting on the edge of the bed and taking her into my arms.

"I don't hate you." I told her, even though I didn't know if that was really true or not. I didn't hate her right now. I owed her for saving Helena.

"You should. Everybody should." She said, gripping my shirt. It wasn't meant in a threatening way, but I was there. I was there and she needed something to make her feel more stable. So I let her hold my shirt.

I stroked her short hair. "Relax, Nikita." I said, maintaining a soft voice. "Nobody here hates you."

She put her head on my chest, relaxing against me. "I…I believe you." She whispered.

Nikita feel asleep in my arms, and I couldn't bring myself to leave her. She seemed so frail…It reminded me of someone, who seemed to be at the very edge of my brain.

I closed my eyes, not intending to actually fall asleep, but just to rest. It didn't turn out that way.

_The lighting was harsh. It gave everything this bright whiting to it. _

_Ada Wong and I walked down the hall, both of us in tight fitting clothes underneath our lab coats. My skin itched at the thought of ever actually being one of these. These horrible examples of mankind, testing on young, defenseless girls._

_Ada stopped and looked into one of the doors. "Krauser, hold up." She told me._

_I stopped and came back to the Asian woman. I don't know why Wesker sent her with me; I was competent enough to do this myself. _

"_That's Sherry Birkin," she said softly. "Keep an eye out for me, will you?" She kneeled down and started picking the lock._

_I don't know how you're suppose to look casual when you're with someone who is breaking into a room in a federal building. But it didn't matter because nobody came down the hall._

_Ada finally opened the lock. She opened the door to reveal a girl with blonde hair. She looked like she was dying. _

_I didn't stop Ada as she walked over and started undoing straps and IV's. She took the unconscious girl into her arm. "If there's one good thing I do in my life, it's getting you out of here." Ada told her, even though she wasn't awake to hear it._

_I looked up and down the hall, and saw two scientists walking down the hall. "Ada," I hissed. "Now's not the time for martyr-ish _babble_." I told her._

_She got up, but I knew her hands were full with the Birkin girl. I moved my lab coat back and drew out my gun. I wasn't going to hesitate._

_I pulled the trigger twice, both kill shots in the right eyes. I turned around to find Ada giving me a dark look._

"_What? I want to get to Manuela and get out of here." I told the half Asian._

"_Fine. Let's go then." She told me, supporting Sherry, who was beginning to wake up._

_I walked down the hall ahead of them._

"_Where am I?" I heard the sixteen year ask. "No more tests, please. I'm so tired." She whispered. "My stomach hurts so badly…"_

"_It's alright, Sherry," Ada cooed. "We're only going to stay here a little longer." She explained._

_I almost told her to shut up, but I stopped when I saw _her_._

_The scientists had Manuela strapped up, wrists tied to a bar. They had gagged her so she couldn't scream._

_I kicked down the door, anger fueling me. I didn't really think. I only aimed._

_One shot was in the stomach of one research assistant. The other assistant earned shots in the leg and then the head. The lead scientist had the prize._

_I came over and yanked him away from the girl. I started hitting him over and over again with the butt of my gun. And then I took out my combat knife and slashed him across his chest._

_I looked up at Manuela, breathing heavily. She looked at me, slowly recognizing me._

"_Jack," she said softly. "And here I thought you didn't like me." _

_I reached up and cut the bonds. I took her into my arms, holding her bridal style. I liked her because she was the last real thing left of my time with Leon. _

"_You're putting on quite a show. Let's go before security come." Ada told me. No malice was in her voice for once._

_We left the way we came (the beauty of coming during the lunch hour.) We went into the helicopter that was waiting on the roof. I couldn't help but notice how close Ada was to Sherry. I knew that Wesker could scare the shit outta people when he tells them what could happen if they don't do what he wants, but this is Ada._

_There was a story behind the two of them. _

_Manuela put her head on my shoulder. "So soft…" she whispered. I put my arm around her to keep her closer._

"_Go to sleep, Krauser. I'll keep watch for any bad guys." Ada told me. Sherry had fallen asleep again, presumably from a high number of sedatives still circulating through her body._

"_Wake me up if anything happens." I told her._

"_Sure. Like I didn't already know that." She rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance. But I saw a slight smile on her lips._

_I leaned back and closed my eyes. "See ya later, Ada," I told her._

I woke up in the hospital, Nikita's head in my lap. What was that? _Who_ were those girls? And why did Ada look so much like Nikita? Not so much…they looked exactly alike.

"_You're not suppose to be nice to me."_ Niki's words rang in my head. _"You hate me and we've tried to kill each other countless times."_

"What time is it?" Said Niki's sleepy voice.

I glanced at the clock. "Four thirty-eight. I should probably check on Helena. Are you going to be alright?" I asked her.

She lifted hear head and our eyes locked. Memories flooded in. I didn't really know what to do with half of them except realize that Nikita was right.

We'd hated each other.

But, at this moment, in the _life_, I, _Jack_ Krauser, didn't hate Nikita _or _Ada Wong. I…I couldn't hate her.

I got up, our fingertips brushing together. It sent shiver up my arm as I thought about that… about us…It felt like such a weird concept.

I swallowed hard, trying to ignore what I was feeling. I thought back to Helena, and stopped myself. "I'll come back tomorrow, okay?" I told this woman who seemed to be a vital part of my life.

She nodded, drawing her knees up to her chin. "See you then." I guess she couldn't tell that I remembered.

But I did.

**Kollin 5:12 p.m. Trixie, California**

I walked into the restaurant. It was owned by Carlos Oliveira…figures that I would run into another former Umbrella worker trying to find Ada…

It was rather empty, and I saw two Spanish looking men trying to put a table back together.

"Carlos, just scrap it," one said.

"No, Luis, this was an expensive table!" Carlos jammed a leg back in. "God damn all the psychos in this world."

"Si, if only. Life would be much easier."

I cleared my throat, earning the attention of both men. Carlos turned and looked at me.

"Sorry sir, but we're closed." He told me.

"I can see that. I was hoping to ask you if you know a woman by the name of Nikita?" The last time Ada had gone off radar that had been the name she'd used.

"Yeah, why? I just hired her. You her ex boyfriend or something?" Carlos asked me.

"No, an ex-coworker; our boss wanted to make sure she was alright. We have reason to believe that she was harmed." Though I personally would not consider Sherry's dream a reason, Wesker did so I was forced to go along with this.

Luis and Carlos exchanged glances. "Yeah, she just got into a bit of a brawl earlier. Who told you?" Carlos asked.

I improvised. "She rarely stays out of contact this long. We were just concerned friends." I explained.

Luis's phone began to ring. He pulled it out and answered it. "Yes, Jack?" I watched it as his faced showed shock. "Okay, it's alright. Yes, I'll be home soon. Relax. No, don't do that. Well, why do you think? I'd miss you, you idiot. Right, I'll be there in a few minutes." He slid the phone back into his pocket.

"I'm sorry Carlos. Jack is in a bit of a situation and he needs me." He explained to his friend.

"Alright, bye Sera." He replied.

_Luis Sera? There is _no way_ that's the same Luis Sera as in Ada's Reports…Right? Somebody needs to clear this up. Like, now._

"Niki is at the hospital if you want to actually see her. I guess Jack just left her." Carlos explained.

"Yes, I suppose I should. Have a nice day, Carlos." I told him.

"Hold on. It's unfair that you know my name, but I don't know yours." He told me.

I turned around and extended my hand. "My name is Henry Kollin. Pleasure to have met you." We shook hands and then I walked out.

I slid my hands into the pockets of my black dress pants as I walked down to my Ferrari. I got in when I saw him.

His hair was about the same length, defiantly the same blonde. From this vantage point, I could see a faint scar across his left eye. He wasn't as muscular as before, but there was still some structure there.

He was on the sidewalk across the street, and it looked like he was puking his guts up. Luis was kneeling next to him and rubbing his back.

I walked closer and heard the Spaniard talking to him.

"It's fine, it'll be fine." He told him.

"All those people…how did I do it?" He asked Luis. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you've changed, amigo. You are no longer the man I met last year. Don't pretend to be." Luis told him.

He sat away from the puddle of puke. "I need to find that girl…I cared about her…"

Luis helped him up. "Well, you can find your mystery girl after we've cleaned you up, alright Jack?"

I stood there, in front of my car, dumbfounded.

Jack Krauser was very, very much alive.

And it would seem that Ada had just triggered his apparently lost memories.

_Now, how am I suppose to explain this to Wesker?_

**Author's Note****:** Huzzah! I feel really stupid, I've been trying to keep the times (which I'm sure nobody pays attention to anyway) in a coherent order and I actually just remembered that there is a 3 hour time difference between California and New Jersey & Virginia.

Stupid me.

Anyways, please review!

~_HolleringHawk65_


	16. Love Me, Love Me Not

**Chris 8:37 p.m. Virginia (Leon's House.)**

I was at the stove, making dinner. I knew Leon would be home soon and that he'd want to go check on Sherry, so I was making dinner so he could get that out of the way and come home again. He'd come home at about 6 in the morning to take a shower, change clothes, and then headed to work.

I felt like I barely saw my boyfriend, and I couldn't really just dump that on someone. Claire had her boyfriend, Jill had Wesker, and I wasn't about to rain on their parades with my shit.

"I need a freaking therapist," I muttered under my breath.

I heard Aaron come down the stairs, and I looked behind me. He was dressed in faded jeans and a t-shirt for a country music tour. _He just earned one point._

"Hi," he came over to me.

"Hello," Claire picked the funniest of times to introduce her boyfriends. "How come you stayed upstairs all day?" I asked him.

"I had to finish an overview for the local newspaper and send that off." Aaron explained. "I'm a sports columnist."

_Since when did Claire like sports? It must be all he talks about…_ "Did you ever play one?" I asked him.

"Football, I was QB." He responded.

I smiled, "Same." I told him.

There was silence for a few more minutes. I shuffled the vegetables and meat mix around until I knew it was done, and then dumped it as evenly as I could into the two pie crusts that were waiting on the counter.

_Who knew I'd be the bitch out of this relationship?_ I thought bitterly.

I leaned over the counter, exhaustion starting to take over. I never slept well without Leon, anymore. Hence the reason I'd been wide awake during Harvardville. But now, now I just felt angry.

I understand that Leon feels responsible for Sherry. But _clearly_ Wesker is a bit more qualified for taking care of her (it appears as if he had been for a while.) And don't get me started on Kate! For crying out loud, when Leon found out she'd worked for Wesker, he didn't even bat an eyelash!

I put the two meat pies into the oven. Amber had walked into the kitchen and was now sitting near me. She knew my moods better than I did by now.

The utility room opened, but neither of us moved. Aaron looked uncomfortable and leaned against the counter.

Ok, I knew that Wesker was coming to dinner. I wasn't happy about it. I knew that there would also be Jill, Claire, and Aaron (and the normalcy of Leon and me.)

But the guy that came in with Wesker looked like he was going to a freaking gasket and had been dragged here.

"I told you I wanted to stay with Sherry!" He yelled at Wesker.

Amber growled at the two men. She'd briefly met Wesker before, and I can tell you she does not like them.

"And I'm telling you to make peace with Claire first," Wesker snarled, right in this guy's face.

"You, telling somebody to be peaceful? Did you time travel and live in the 60's for the past five or six years?" I was losing count.

Wesker glared at me. I took note of the absent sunglasses. It looked like he wore contacts now, because his eyes were a yellow-ish green.

He took a deep breath and looked at Jill. She had a pleading look in her eyes.

Wesker's phone started ringing, and he took it out to answer it. "Yes, Kollin?"

I watched as his face fell. He showed emotion. This _SOB_ could show _emotion_.

That was a twist.

"Thank you, Kollin." He turned the phone off and put it back into the inside pocket of his jacket. _Kollin…didn't Kate mention that name?_ I asked myself.

We were all just standing there. Claire had walked over to Aaron and had her face into his chest. He was hugging her and I could tell my little sister was crying.

I looked at the guy who was standing next to Wesker. He was probably a little younger than her. He looked me straight in the eyes, almost asking me if I wanted a fight. I probably would take him outside if he ticked me off. And if he didn't, well, I think I could find a reason.

"Chris, this is Steve. Burnside." Jill introduced us.

I brought my fingers to the bridge of my nose. "Can't you people just stay _dead_?" I asked, before I could stop myself. "The next thing you know, Alexia Ashford is going to walk in through the door and try to kill my dog!" I yelled.

"Calm down," Wesker said. And why did this god damned psycho sound so poised and put together?

I lurched forward to strangle Wesker, but while I was in motion, Aaron grabbed my waist and yanked me back.

"Let's think about this. We are in a house, next to a hot oven and stove. We have him," Aaron pointed with his thumb to Steve, "who looks like he could wrestle a bull. Chris, who looks like a bear, and whoever you are," he again pointed with his thumb to Wesker, "you just look like psychotic."

"Nice way to sum us up." I said, smiling. I saw why Claire liked him; he dissolved tension like it was sugar in water.

"Simple minded as usual, I see," Wesker said, mostly under his breath.

"Dear god! I thought we agreed you would try to be civil with Chris!" Jill said. She looked like she wanted to rip her hair out.

"I am trying! I don't have Kate, and I don't have Sherry, I have not slept in eighty-six hours, I am currently being fueled by a lot of coffee with a lot of different additives, and _I'm on edge_. Forgive me, my life is not very good right now." He told her.

Her eyes showed she felt dejection. "I guess I don't care for anything then?" She asked him.

"What? No, Jill I didn't mean it like that!" He told her.

"Whatever," she grabbed her bag from the kitchen table (where we were constantly dumping stuff; I think that there was a grocery bag with cookies in it from three weeks ago still there.) Jill walked out of the house through the front door, slamming it behind her.

Wesker stood there for a moment, clearly dumb struck. "Did she just…did she just leave?" He asked out loud, but I think it was rhetorical.

Steve snickered. "See, this is what you get."

Wesker looked down at him. "And what's that suppose to mean? I didn't ask for this! And it's not my fault! If you want to go to the root of all 'these' problems, go back in time and kill Veronica Ashford!" His eyes were wide and he looked like he was crack.

"I think we can all agree you and coffee with sugar to not mix well." I went over and patted his back. "It's okay, I think Jill has walked out on quite a few people. She'll be back." I told him. "Let's have dinner, alright? Hopefully the pies aren't burned beyond edibility."

Claire helped me get the pies out while Aaron set the table with napkins, silverware, and coasters. Wesker begrudgingly got the drinks out of the fridge and Steve sat down in the living room and played with Amber. I watched the last one carefully—I was almost afraid that he'd play too hard. Leon would never ever forgive me if something happened to our dog on my watch.

We were sitting down at the dining room table, with the radio playing in the background. The Killers came on—clearly, Leon had been the last one to use our (my) radio.

I was half way done my slice of pie when the door bell rang. I got up and saw that it was Stacey, the wonderful neighbor who is always willing to watch Amber.

I opened the door and motioned for Stacey to come in.

"Oh, you have company. Sorry," she said. "I just wanted to tell you my brother was hoping to talk to you. He's in town and, well, you know."

"Billy Coen wants to talk to me?" I asked her, to clarify. "Is something wrong with Rebecca?" I asked, instantly worried for my ex coworker.

"She's still alive?" That earned a slap in the back of the head from Claire to Wesker. "Ouch, you've gotten good at that. I assume your brother didn't teach you?" That earned yet another head slap. "Dear god, woman! Stop it, please."

"Fine," I heard Claire mutter.

Stacey looked at me with a worried look on her face. "Uh, so, sorry for bothering you and please tell Leon I said hi." She said. "Oh, and please tell Kate I hope she feels better soon." Stacey hugged me before walking out.

I sighed as I closed the door behind her.

"I never knew Billy had a sister. That's interesting…" Wesker mused out loud. I glared at him before returning to my seat. "And, also, may I recommend actually getting chairs for the people sitting along the length of the table instead of benches? They have no back support, you know."

"I know. That's why we don't have old people over." I shot back, irritated.

Steve started laughing. "Now that was a good one. I can't wait to tell Kollin about this!" He said, smiling. He mimicked what I had said, as if committing it to memory.

After that, dinner was silent. At the end, Claire got up and started doing the dishes. Aaron got up and helped her, leaving me with Wesker and Steve.

"What changed?" I asked Wesker.

Wesker looked up from what had apparently being a very interesting mark on the table. "Excuse me?"

"Why aren't you all 'global domination' and 'here, let me develop a virus that infects a whole City that the government then has to blow up!'?" I re-asked.

Steve looked at me, as if he were about to answer. But then it was the perfect time for an incredibly late Leon to come in. Amber didn't even rise from her spot next to me to greet her favorite blond man. I think we were both equally upset with him.

"Claire! Hi, how are you?" He asked her.

"Hi, Leon. I'm good. Just cleaning up from dinner. There's some still in the oven for you." She told him. "Oh, and, Leon, this is Aaron, my boyfriend." She said, and I could tell she was smiling without seeing her.

"It's nice to meet you." Leon said.

"And you, too. Claire is constantly talking about you." Aaron admitted.

I sighed and looked at Wesker. "I'm still expecting an answer from you."

He rubbed his right thumb over the inside of his left hand. "You are? I hadn't noticed. I don't think right now is the best time, but I will indulge you in a simply _fascinating_ conversation about my change of heart later, perhaps when Mr. Kennedy has departed for the hospital. Steve, I believe you are going with him?"

The younger man looked at Wesker and it made me nervous because I couldn't read his expression. I knew this guy as much as a shark would know a fruit fly.

"I was going to try to, yes." He admitted.

"Going to try to what?" Leon asked, sitting down next to me, (to the left of the head; I got the only chair because Leon was apparently happy to sit on the bench.)

"Leon, Steve would like to go to the hospital with you to see Sherry. Oh, and by the simple way, this is Steve Burnside." I explained.

Leon had had his head down, looking at his plate. His fork was halfway to his mouth and he looked up. His face was a mixture of shock and confusion.

"I thought that…Claire was…and you're…" He was cute when he couldn't form a sentence.

Though I was still mad at him.

"You know, this is _exactly_ how I felt about forty minutes ago. And you get to deal with problem because I'm going to take a shower and go to bed. Have a wonderful time visiting Sherry. I suppose I'll see you at some point tomorrow." I said, knowing that I had plenty of malice in my voice.

Leon looked at me, and then put his fork down as I got up. "Wait, why are you made at _me_?" He asked as I walked over to the stairs. Amber took the hint and was already up.

I turned around and looked at him. "Why the hell do you think I'm mad at you? All you've been caring about the past few days is Sherry Birkin and Katherine Marcello! You've only been at the hospital, and I can't remember the last time we have slept together because you refused to tell Kate that you're gay!" I yelled at him.

The house seemed eerily quiet. Leon stood there, looking at me. "I'm sorry." He told me.

I _wanted_ to punch him in the jaw. I _wanted_ to have a play fight which would lead to great sex upstairs.

"You know what? Leon, I'm done." I told him. I started going upstairs and I heard Leon follow me.

"I said I was sorry!" He told me, sounding so desperate.

I turned around at the top. "But the fact that you did it in the _first_ place, that you just didn't care about what I was going through! I am so _sick_ of it, Leon!"

I turned back around and went into what had been our bedroom. I grabbed my duffel bag and started shoving clothes that I would need. Then I threw in my toothbrush and a few books.

"Are you actually leaving?" Leon asked me.

"Yes! I am _actually_ leaving you, Leon. Get over it." I told him.

He grabbed my wrist and looked me square in the eyes. I yanked him off and shouldered my bag. "Goodbye, Leon."

I went downstairs and grabbed my keys and wallet from a bowl on the kitchen table. That's when I saw a little black velvet box that had note with my name on it.

I swallowed hard and opened the folded piece of paper.

'We've been living together for almost a year now, I know it feels kind of hard to believe, but it has been, and I've loved every single day of it.

You have no idea how grateful I am that you've been there for me. I'd ask you this with the words coming from my mouth, but I think I'd chicken out in the middle of it. So, here it goes:

Chris, will you marry me?'

I felt something catch in my throat. I dropped the box and walked out. My sister tried to catch me, she was saying something, but it was in one ear and out the other. I walked into the garage, and pressed the button to open up the garage.

I walked out to my truck, tears starting to fall down my cheeks.

_God damn it! Pull it together. You are Chris freaking Redfield, one of five living S.T.A.R. members, one of the few survivors of Raccoon City, you can handle this!_

I slammed the door, jamming the keys into the ignition.

I pulled out of the driveway and left 18 Winter Grove in my rearview mirror.

**Author's Note****: **Crap, I didn't mean for this to be so long! It's longer then the chapter with Wesker's flashback (which, btw, took me forever to write!) So, how do you feel about this chapter?

Somebody please review, good or bad, I've kinda stopped caring. I just want someone to acknowledge that I am writing this, _please. _I mean, Chris just Leon! Somebody _must_ have an opinion on that! (and leave it in a review! :)

~_HolleringHawk65_


	17. There's a Place for Me (In His Arms)

**Manuela 11:39 p.m. Ocean City, New Jersey**

I was in Piers' arms, watching _Wedding Crashers_ on the flat screen in the master bedroom. We had the door cracked into to let in the salty ocean air.

"You don't think I'm clingy, do you?" I ask him, holding onto his wrists, as the movie continued.

"Not in the bad sense." His neck bent slightly and kissed my shoulder, up my neck, my jaw, and then my lips.

I relaxed into his strong arms, sighing softly. How different this seemed from anything I've done. I used to never act out. But, now, now it had all changed. It had changed after my father died. I was glad he had died, but it had still changed me.

It had changed me when Leon didn't even put up a fight and let the government men take me.

My phone started ringing on the nightstand. Piers reached over and got it for me.

I saw the call was from Steve. He'd texted me earlier and said he was with Sherry and (reluctantly & unhappily) Claire.

I picked up. "Hello, you've reached the wonderfully happy and so not irritated Manuela Hildago. How may I help you?" I asked him in my 'happy' voice.

"Ela! You will not believe what just happened!" Steve told me. "Chris walked out on Leon. And I'm not gossiping. I am telling you as a concerned third party."

I didn't say anything for a moment. "How does this concern me?" I asked him.

"Leon's upset. And last time I checked, you cared about Leon because-"

"Don't you dare go there. I am having a very good time, I've been _enjoying_ myself," I briefly stopped as I shuddered. Piers hand was softly stroking my thigh as he kissed my shoulder again. "And if it weren't for Leon, guess who'd still be here today."

"So? You might not have been." Steve shot back. "And then where would I be? Oh, right, I'd be chained in a _basement_."

I think Piers heard that part because he stopped kissing me and looked at me with his eyebrows arched.

"So are you saying Krauser's death was worth Leon being alive?" I asked him.

He didn't say anything. "Technically, I don't think it was Leon's fault. It was Krauser's fault. He wanted power and used the Dominant Plagas strain, or whatever the hell it was called. If he hadn't, maybe he'd be here."

"Ok, fine, babble on. Why did you really call me?" I asked Steve, irritated.

"To ask you to come back, for Leon's sake. Maybe you could do your lullaby thing and calm him down. Or just cheer him up. You tend to do that for most people." He responded.

"No." I said simply.

"Grea—wait, what? Did you just say no? Why?" He asked me.

"I'm very busy right now." I explained.

I felt Piers smile again my shoulder. He was just holding me now, and that felt good. I like feeling _cherished._

"What are you doing at midnight? Going to a club? Are you in the bathroom right now? No, that's not good enough for _you_. You're probably at some posh place in NYC. Or with a…" His voice faltered. "Are you with Nivans?" He asked me.

"Steve, don't be like that." I said.

"Oh my _god_! You _are_ with _Nivans_!" He didn't sound upset, exactly. Just not happy. "I can't believe it. Well, whatever. If you find out I died because Leon went homicidal, be sure to come to my funeral. I'm sure you have a wonderful speech already prepared."

"Bye, Steve," I told him.

"Good-bye. I love you, my little not sister." He said, and hung up.

I sighed and closed my phone. Piers took it from me and put it back on the nightstand. I turned around and kissed him, ignoring the movie in the background. His fingers twined themselves back into my hair. It felt so good, I didn't suppress my moans.

He flipped us over so I was on bottom. He was kissing me everywhere, taking his good and sweet time. I moaned and wished for it not to end.

I woke up in the morning in Piers' arms, the sun shining in through the glass doors. I stayed there for a few moments, waiting for my lover to wake up.

When he finally did, he woke up to my smile and my lips on his. I couldn't really categorize what I felt for Piers, other than it was something I've never felt before.

We made our way to the shower, where we found yet another way to show passion. Americans and their sex drives…god, I freaking loved them.

We got out and Piers supplied me with more clothes.

"Good morning, by the way." He told me, smiling.

"Good morning to you as well." I planted another kiss on his lips. "So, what do you think? Do your clothes from when you were fourteen fit me well?" I asked him.

I was wearing basketball shorts and a shirt that had the Coca-cola design on it.

"I think these will do, but I really think I should find some of my cousin's old clothing." He told me.

"Whatever you say." I told him. I had neglected to tell him I did have some of my own clothes in a bag that was still in my Jeep.

We went downstairs back to the kitchen, where Piers stopped right in front of me.

"Dad?" He said, clearly unsure. "Hi…"

I looked over Piers' shoulder. His dad was large, but not as intimidating as the men I'd lived with in the past few years. Or any man that I'd ever met before I came to America.

"I see you've found a play toy. Is she illegal?" Governor Nivans asked his son.

"Manuela? No! She's not my 'play toy' and she is not illegal!" Piers said.

I looked at his father again. I suddenly remembered him. He'd been one of the men that had been there when they'd first brought me to the government building. He'd told them what to do with me. He had specifically said I was to be treated just like Sherry Birkin.

I gripped the back of Piers' shirt, struggling to keep control. My arm hurt badly, even though it had long since healed. I could envision myself burning this man to death for what he'd done to Sherry and what he'd done to me.

He was also Piers' father though, and I knew I shouldn't hurt him. But only for that reason. If it had been anyone else's father, he already would be dead.

"Manuela? Don't I know you?" The Governor asked me.

"I…No, I don't think so." My grip on Piers' shirt lessened.

"Oh, I could've sworn you looked exactly like this girl who was very prone to being a nuisance. Somebody even kidnapped her from government custody." He continued.

"Dad, it doesn't matter. Why are you here?" Piers asked.

"To check on my only child, of course. Why else would I be here?" His father asked him.

"To make a nuisance of yourself? Anyway, I'm obviously fine. You can go." Piers responded.

"I can't. You see, there's something going on that I think your little friend knows something about. Ever heard of Albert Wesker, _girl_?" He asked me.

"No, never." I replied.

"Even more interesting. Say, where did you grow up?" He asked me.

I was caught between his fingertips, with no room to move. "I grew up in South America. My mother and I moved here. She remarried and died shortly after. I lived with my step-father until very recently." I hated it when lying came so naturally to me.

"Then it seems I have made a mistake. I hope you two enjoy the rest of your day." I watched as Governor Nivans walked down the stairs. I waited a good five minutes until I spoke to Piers.

"I think I should go." I told him as he turned around. He tucked hair behind my ear before answering.

"Why? My father said you weren't the girl he was looking for." He reminded me.

"But…I am. I lied, Piers. But he doesn't know what he's talking about. And I think the best thing for you would be if I left." I told him.

"No! Don't leave. You don't have to. I won't tell any-"

I went onto my tippy toes and silenced him with a kiss. "I'm sorry."

"Let me come with you." Piers pleaded, looking at me with his spell binding green eyes. "I can't lose you when I've lost so much already."

I put my face into the crook of his neck. His arms moved down and he held me for a few minutes.

"What are we?" I asked him.

"We're lovers, at the very least. We could be dating, if you wanted us to be." He told me.

"I do. I want us to be dating and I don't want to leave you, God knows that, but-" It was his turn to cut me off. He took me back upstairs.

**Ada 5:30 (ish) a.m. Trixie, California**

I woke up alone. The nurses were doing their rounds, but nobody stopped and checked on me.

I took deep breaths to calm my breathing. All I could think about was Krauser…why did I care about him? The old him, before his 'death,' hated my guts and gladly would've taken my own small intestine and made a noose out of it to hang me with!

But this Krauser…this Krauser stayed with me.

Jack had held me. Jack had remembered with _me_, which implies that his past self had held feelings for me.

I laced and unlaced my fingers, not really able to think. Pain was going up and down my back because they refused to give me pain medication. But I wouldn't verbally complain.

Heavy footsteps alerted me to another person's presence. It wasn't a doctor's.

I looked up and saw Kollin, dressed in a silk dress shirt, a tailored suit jacket, and black dress pants. His hair was a bit spiky though still slightly wavy, which added to his business man look.

His blue eyes flicked over me. "You're actually hurt," he observed.

"And the scarecrow actually has a brain," I clapped for him.

He rolled his eyes. "So I guess you know Krauser is alive." He began.

"Yes. That is part of the reason I'm staying in this wonderful town." I admitted.

"What, did you think you could keep him for yourself? If I'm correct, Mr. Oliveira is friends with Jill Valentine still, whose roommate is Claire Redfield, who happens to be very close with a certain government agent." Kollin unnecessarily reminded me.

"That's the funny part. Luis Sera is making sure that Jill doesn't meet Krauser." I explained. He didn't need to actually tell me for me to figure out. Luis was trying to protect Jack and Leon (and most likely also himself,) no doubt.

"I concluded that. He's getting sloppy though. I think he should hire his standards to the whole world." Kollin said. He moved his jacket back slightly.

I was too sleep deprived to be paying real attention. "A little late for that, don't you think?"

"It's funny. If a person finds something out, there's always a way for them to forget." Kollin said, smiling.

I felt the blood drain from my face. I saw the shine of a gun.

"Kollin, _wait_, think this _through_. What happened to not killing an unarmed person? Especially a woman," I reminded him.

"Oh, don't start with me, Wong." He said.

I was defenseless. Or, I thought I was. I saw a little grenade roll into the room, making a _click_ sound against the linoleum. My eyes flicked back to Kollin, who was turning the safety off on his gun.

The grenade burst, letting out a gas that knocked Kollin out right before it knocked me out. I didn't know who picked me up, but for some reason…

I felt _safe_.

**Author's Note: **And I feel accomplished for some reason! Actually it's because this story has 1,000 + views! Thank you for everybody that is reading (or ever read) _How Many Problems Do We Have?_ Anyways, please review (they are always appreciated! :)

Sincerely yours,

~_HolleringHawk65_


	18. A Different Side (Don't Think Too Hard)

**Leon around 3 a.m. Virginia**

I was on my bed, my arms wrapped around Chris's pillow. I couldn't fall asleep, even though I was exhausted.

He had left.

I'd finally put him through so much shit that Chris—my lover, my boyfriend, the only guy who had stuck around long enough that I had wanted to make a permanent fixture in my life,—had left me.

I knew exactly how to push everyone I cared about away.

I closed my eyes, desperate to remember better times. Oh, why had I let Kate just walk over me? I should've made it clear from the beginning that Chris and I were together; that I loved him.

_"Are you seriously going to spend one of the few days you take off fixing that thing?" Chris asked me, leaning against the door that leads into the house._

_I was bent over my Vette, but I looked over at Chris. He'd only been living here for about two months, so he was still kind of adjusting._

_"Yeah, then you don't have to drive me everywhere, or be dependent on my schedule. And, for the record, it _does_ run, it's just not the most reliable, or safe, car in the world." I explained to him._

_He chuckled. "How much longer until you come back inside?" He asked me._

_I looked up at the sky. It was early November and a beautiful day. It didn't look like it was going to rain and the breeze only made me wear a sweatshirt._

_I looked back at Chris and I think he could read my expression before I said anything. "I'll bring water out in about a half hour, okay?" He said to me._

_I smiled. "Thank you."_

_A half hour later and I felt arms wrap around my waist. I had been so absorbed in looking at the engine that I hadn't heard the door open._

_I sighed and leaned against Chris, tilting my head up to look at him. Our lips met and I found myself kissing him. Before I fully registered it, we were in the master bathroom in the shower stall. _

_"Now, isn't this a better way to spend your day off?" Chris asked me, bending down to kiss me again._

_I looked into his grey eyes. "It's the best."_

I woke up back on my bed to my alarm going off. I picked up the alarm clock and threw it across the room. It hit the wall and the screen cracked.

And it was still going off.

I got out of bed and picked it up and just kept throwing it down as hard as I could until it stopped.

I slid to the ground, my body shaking. _Why? Why did I do it like this? Why couldn't I…_

I didn't know what I could've done differently. I only knew that I felt like I couldn't breathe. I tried taking deep breaths, but it seemed to keep catching in my throat.

Damned tears started streaming down my face again. _Chris left me. He's gone and probably won't come back_. I'll go back to asking Stacey to watch my stuff and Amber; to not having anything to come home to.

And I'll feel like nothing again.

Even Amber wasn't in my room. I wouldn't be surprised if Chris had taken her with him.

I rubbed my eyes with the palms of my hands, starting to calm down again.

"Leon?" The door opened and Claire was standing there. "Oh, god, what happened?" She rushed over and took my left hand into hers.

_What?_ I looked at my hands to find them cut in several places and bleeding. I looked at the alarm clock and saw it smashed to pieces.

"I…" I found that trembling threatening to come back, so I stopped.

"You're not going to work today, alright? I'll call Ashley and tell her you're sick." Claire told me, getting up.

I didn't resist and I just sat there. I felt numb and exhausted. I can't even understand how I made it through Harvardville; or Spain, for that matter.

_Spain…_I remembered Luis and how a smile never seemed to leave his face. I remembered Ada and how much she'd done for me. I remembered Krauser, and seeing him like _that_… remembered knowing _that_ was not the man I remembered.

Thinking about Krauser led me to think about Manuela.

_If Wesker had Sherry _and_ Steve, maybe he'd know something about _her_. _Any_thing._

I stood up, my legs shaking. Why did I feel so weak? God, what was happening to me?

I nearly fell down the stairs, thinking that Wesker would be on the couch. That's where we originally had him, anyway. _It_ was_ big enough for his massive ego;_ I thought, remembering what Chris and I had discussed. We had been trying to tactically putting people away from each other (this was before Aaron was suppose to come, and we still thought Steve was _dead_.)

"Mr. Kennedy, shouldn't you be in bed?" Wesker asked.

After my eyes adjusted to the dark lighting (the only light came from next door, where our neighbors had put up their Christmas lights. I mean, honestly! It's the 14th of November, Thanksgiving isn't even until the 24nd this year…) I saw that he was sitting in the chair that matched the couch. He had moved it so that it was slightly closer to the couch, where I saw Steve was sleeping.

"No, I'm fine." I told him.

He shrugged. "I'm sorry about Chris." He told me.

"It's not your fault," I replied. I'd never met Wesker before. I had _no_ idea where this was going.

He took a deep breath and looked at me. He'd taken off his contacts because I saw red eyes looking at me. Suffice to say, it was rather unnerving. "Actually, I believe it is."

"I mean, if you want to go back to whole zombie thing, then yeah, it is your fault. But I'm trying to ignore that. You'd understand; sake for sanity and all that stuff." I explained.

There was silence for a few more minutes. His eyes were closed because I no longer saw the red glow. Had he fallen asleep?

He opened his eyes. "Mr. Kennedy, please understand apologies are very hard for me. I do not like admitting something was my fault, and you are about to join a very elite club." He explained. "It is my fault because I convinced Jack Krauser to join my cause. I sent him to Los Illuminados, where, as you know, he then kidnapped Ms. Ashley Graham in order to infiltrate the cult.

"Before that, he had rescued, with the convenient help of Ms. Wong, two girls, whom you both know, from a federal testing facility. One was Sherry Birkin, and the other was Manuela Hildago." Wesker paused and flexed his hands.

"With Manuela's DNA, I fixed Steve. I also gave her the treatment which would contain the Veronica and render it useless so she would have a chance to live a normal life. Unfortunately, this was not an option for Sherry. The G-Virus began to regenerate and Sherry was going to die." He swallowed hard.

"That was in 2002, right after she was rescued. It was just over four years since Raccoon City. I was able to stop the regeneration with what I thought was a permanent cure; Jack Krauser's blood. I kept an extra vial in case I was wrong." I think I heard his voice crack.

"But I didn't know that would happen. I thought Sherry was fixed. And as the months progressed, I found myself sending a willing Krauser off to Spain. He stopped reporting in so I sent in Ms. Wong. She came back and told me he was dead." Wesker told me.

"I sent Sherry away, what is it now? Two weeks? Time seems to stretch or shrink when you don't it to. I started to see traits that Krauser had had in her. I guess I'm more psychotic than everybody thinks. When I found out Sherry was sick, I checked a small sample of Jack's blood." He'd gotten up and started pacing. But now he stopped right in front of me.

"That's when I found out the antibodies were disappearing. I don't know how that could be happening, but it is. I came in one last desperate attempt to save Sherry. But, with the way it's looking, she'll be dead or a monster in less than two years." He told me. "So, Mr. Kennedy, I am truly sorry."

I don't know why, but I was expecting him to punch me in the shoulder and say 'kidding!' or something like that. I stood there, not knowing if that's actually what I had wanted to hear. Not really. I mean, Manuela was safe. And the Veronica virus was dormant. And I'd always had my suspicions about Wesker's involvement with Spain, I guess.

But Sherry? Sherry was going to die?

And I had this bottled up anger. Anger at everything that had every happened, I guess. I punched Wesker right in the jaw. I think I hit harder then I usually do, because my hand was stinging. But maybe I had just broken something on his

His eyes glowed bright red. I expected him to strangle me but he stood where he was. "That was fair enough, Kennedy. Try it again and you won't be met with patience and consideration." Wesker told me. He sat back down in the chair.

"Jack talked about you. Not a lot, but often enough." Wesker told me.

I stood there, not knowing what to do or say. "Chris hates you," was all I could come up with in my exhausted and fazed state.

"I know. There was once a time when he didn't though, however hard that is to imagine." Wesker replied. "You should go back to sleep, Mr. Kennedy. You look like you need it."

"I'm fine," I replied.

He got up again and took one of my hands into his. His fingertips softly touched my skin, causing me to flinch.

"Let me patch this up, then, if you refuse to go back to bed." Wesker told me.

"Alright." I couldn't imagine why he was being nice to me.

He took me into the bathroom, which was rather cramped with the two of us in there. He closed the door and turned on the light.

I looked at him, almost nervous. Wesker looked up at me. "What? Steve is light sensitive when he wakes up."

I'd heard Chris, Jill, Rebecca, _and_ Claire talk about how heartless and evil Wesker is. And he's in my bathroom, cleaning my hands, with the door shut out of consideration for his uh…what _would_ you call their relationship? Definitely not father and son…

I hissed when Wesker poured isopropyl alcohol on my hand. "Well, at least we know it's working," he said under his breath.

I sighed and leaned against the wall as Wesker went about his work. "You got plastic pieces embedded in your hand. Lovely." He looked through the first aid kit and pulled out a pair of tweezers.

I resisted the urge to cry out as he started pulling out said embedded pieces. I felt my body tense up and he stopped.

"If you keep doing that, I'll rip and possibly permanently muscle, which is even more painful. Now, relax. Think about pleasurable things." He told me.

I swallowed and tried to relax. I did think about happier things, which I guessed worked because Wesker was silent as he finished picking the pieces out. He dabbed a cotton ball across my palm and then applied a good amount of Neosporin. He wrapped my hand in gauze and then I thought we were done.

He didn't do anything for a moment. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself. He shut off the light and opened the door.

"Thank you." I whispered to him.

"You're welcome." He whispered back.

_I have just met a different side of Wesker_, I realized as he returned to his seat on the chair.

**Author's Note****:** Yet another one POV chapter…Oh, well. At least it was kind of good (I think.)

Please review!

~_HolleringHawk65_


	19. Back Together Again?

**Claire 6:24 a.m. Virginia (Leon's House)**

I came down from making my call to Ashley's on duty bodyguard. I may have stretched the truth to what could be considered a thin lie, but I knew Leon would have had another breakdown if he had gone to work today.

I saw Wesker reading a book on the leather chair. It unnerved me that he could be so _normal_. I kept waiting for him to pull out a gun or some new toxic gas that would make us all zombies.

"Good morning, Claire." He said, without even looking up. I noticed he had glasses on. _Wesker needs glasses? Since when? Is he superhuman with super strength and regeneration? Shouldn't he have super sight or something?_

_And_ he had called me _Claire_. Since when we were on a first name basis? Did he expect me to start calling him Albert?

"Good morning," I said lightheartedly. "Have you seen Leon? I left him in his room."

"I'm in here!" Leon said from the kitchen. I walked over and saw him kneeling in front of the fridge. "Ask Wesker if he can make anything worthwhile without a lot of stuff." Leon told me. "Please, Claire. Good morning, by the way."

_Ask __**Wesker?**__ Why does it feel like the world is upside down and no gravity? _"Uh, okay."

I went back over to Wesker. I saw that he was reading a cookbook of some sort. His (now red) eyes peered over the top. "Yes, Claire?"

I swallowed. "Leon wants to know if you can make breakfast without many ingredients." I told him.

Wesker put his book down and got up. Damn it, why do I always feel so short next to him?!

"When does the grocery store open?" Wesker asked Leon.

He looked at the clock. "Seven o'clock. Why?"

"Because I feel like making something worthwhile for Sherry when she gets home." Wesker explained as he picked up a glass to examine it.

"Damn it, that is tomorrow, isn't it?" Leon ran his hands through his hair.

I came over and put a hand on his shoulder. "I think it'd be best if you just took a shower. You smell pretty bad."

Wesker arched his eyebrows. "Really, Claire, do you even think? He doesn't smell half as bad as he must've back in Spain. And here I thought you were the smarter Redfield."

There was silence between the three of us. "Well, okay then." I moved to leave, put I felt a hand on my wrist. I looked over my shoulder and saw Steve. Damn it, he was taller than me, too!

"Are you leaving?" He asked, looking into my eyes. I was losing myself in his greenish blue.

I stood there, rooted to the spot. I remembered him standing next to Sherry from yesterday. How close and like a couple they seemed.

So there was no possible way he still loved me, right? I remembered that heartbreaking moment like it had just happened. I remembered how much I wanted to rip someone's throat out after he'd died in _my arms_.

"No," I said softly to him. He let go of my wrist and walked away.

I looked over at Leon and Wesker. The latter looked like he was going to faint from shock, while Leon looked away. Would he stop being my friend because Chris had left him?

This whole time, I thought it was Leon that would break Chris's heart. And while he kind of had done that (completely unintentionally), Leon looked like he had gotten the worse end of this.

"I'm going to go get Amber from upstairs." I told the two of them. I rushed across the living room and upstairs.

Aaron was still asleep with Amber lying next to him. She had sat in front of the utility room for an hour, waiting for Chris to come back, until Aaron decided to take her upstairs with us. I guess neither of us really trusted Wesker and Steve with a dog…

The dog lifted her head, looking at me. She thumped her tail for a moment, until she sniffed my hand. I guess she thought I was Chris at first, or something. She put her head down and let out a dog sigh.

I didn't know what to do, so I laid back down, next to Amber this time. I snuggled with the dog, knowing she felt as lousy as I did.

We both just wanted Chris to come back and make up with Leon.

**Rebecca 7:31 a.m. Maryland (her house)**

I woke up cuddled against Billy. He must've gotten home late last night, because I don't remember him coming in.

I got up and put a robe over my pajamas. I walked down stairs and put the tea kettle on.

Man, I didn't want to tell Billy I was going away for a few days. Governor Nivans wanted me on a team that was suppose to 'retrieve' Manuela Hildago. I'd been right when I thought it was odd she was there…I didn't know that somebody had broken her out of a government facility three years ago, though.

And I hadn't thought that they'd still want her, after _three_ years of her being gone/missing/under the radar. Surely there was nothing more she could provide for them, right?

My thoughts were interrupted by sudden knocking on my door. I got up and saw Chris was standing there, looking like he'd just run fifteen miles from a pack of Cerberus.

I briefly shuddered at the thought as I opened the door.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I kind of need to stay here, just for a few days." He explained to me. "Please? I know it's sudden, but-"

"Chris, you are the closest thing to family I have!" I hugged him right after he stepped into the house. "You are always welcomed here!"

"Thank you." He told me after our hug.

I smiled. "Anytime. But I'm actually leaving later today for an op…" I looked at him. "Did Leon ever mention Manuela Hildago to you?" I asked him. I remembered the blond had been sent to South America and had returned to with the leader of a cartel's _daughter_.

He flinched at his boyfriend's name. "Once, I think. Why?"

"Somebody broke her out of the government facility where they were treating her. I think people thought that she was sold on the black market for being infected with the Veronica virus, but she wasn't. She's in Ocean City with Governor Nivans' son. The Governor wants us to retrieve her and bring her back into government custody. But something about that is wrong, Chris!" I told him.

I took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen, where my kettle was boiling. I poured the water into my tea cup and waited for Chris to say something.

"What do you want me to do about it?" He asked.

I turned around, already prepared with an answer. "I want you and me to go to Ocean City as within two hours and we'll get there before the rest of the team. We get Manuela, and you go to Virginia with her. No one would think that you'd go through D.C. with her!" I told him, smiling.

"One tiny problem," he said. "I don't exactly live in Virginia anymore…"

I cocked my head to the side. "What? Why?" I asked him.

"I don't want to talk about it."

I leaned against the counter. "Scrap that idea then." I said numbly.

"No, let's tweak it. I was in the air force; I know how fly a plane." He reminded me. "I'll take Manuela to California. Nobody would ever think to look for her there." He explained.

"There's a difference between a fighter and a passenger plane." I reminded him softly. "And I don't think you have a working license."

He shrugged. "It's worth a try, isn't it? Worse comes to worse, we fly commercial. There's a couple airports around Ocean City, right? One has to have a flight to California."

"Why are you going to California?" I nearly dropped my cup when I heard Billy's voice.

I turned around. "Not me, just Chris. We're saving a girl." I explained to him, setting my cup onto the counter.

"Rebecca," he said in _that_ tone in his voice. He didn't mean to sound all bossy and commanding, but that's how it came across.

"What?" I looked at him, folding my arms.

"Can't you just let the police handle this? I know you like to be, but you don't always have to be Supergirl." He told me.

"Billy, it's the government that's after her!" I told him.

"Dear god, Becky, what have you gotten yourself into _this_ time?" He asked me.

I tugged at the edge of my left sleeve. "You remember the girl, Manuela, who had been with Piers, right? She left in the middle of the night? Well, she came back…Governor Nivans wants her to be in government custody. He thinks she'll mutate and I know she won't." I explained to my boyfriend.

He sighed. "And lemme guess; Governor Nivans put you on the squad to abduct her and you're backing out now. So Chris—good morning by the way, it's nice to see you—is now following your lead and is offering to take Manuela to California."

"You make it sound bad!" I told him.

"Calm down, please. I'm tired, Becky. Physically tired and mentally tired because I think that every time you go on one of these crazy ops somebody is gonna shoot you and I won't be there to stop it." He told me.

"I'm sorry," I told him.

He shook his head and smiled. He came over and kissed me. He placed his hands on my cheeks and his forehead was against mine.

"I just want you to be safe. If I could, I'd tie you to my waist so I'd always know where you were. But you'd get really sick of that rather quickly." He gave me another kiss, this time on my forehead. "You should go get ready."

I smiled at him and went upstairs. I kind of wish Chris wasn't there, or Billy would've followed me.

I quickly got dressed in the Spec Op uniform. It felt really different then S.T.A.R.S., but I wasn't about to go complaining to the uniform makers.

I looked in the mirror; I didn't feel like me in this. It was black, skin-tight, with a built in bullet proof vest (god knows I like that feature.) It had a detachable backpack where I stored ammo and a spare gun if we were actually going out into the field (which we weren't this time, so those were stored under a panel in my closet.) I also stored my medic supplies, which I was taking along for an emergency (and to help with a back up story when Manuela was not at the beach house, as planned.)

I detached my backpack and slipped into my combat boots. I got into my trench coat and looked in the mirror again. Eh; I looked like rather normal.

I was walking down the stairs, and stopped when I heard Billy and Chris talking.

"How do you do it?" Chris asked.

"I don't know. I garden a lot, since I'm not allowed to take a job. I visit my sister quite a bit, as you know. I see my brother, too, but he's still not really talking to me. I guess I try to keep as busy as I can." Billy answered. "It's better when Becky's home. I worry less then. But she's gone at least five days out of a month." He took a deep breath. "Anyway, I really think you should give Leon another chance. You'd be doing the same if it was Becky in the hospital."

"Someday I'll try. I just need to cool down right now." Chris replied.

I breathed a sigh of relief. All Chris needed to do is see something very traumatic and then he'll go back to Leon, because you only live once, and there's nothing better then living a good life with the person you care about most.

I can only hope Chris remembers that.

I went downstairs. Billy looked up from his seat. He smiled as he got up and walked over to me. He hugged me close, and then loosened up to kiss me.

"Call me if something happens, okay? Please," he tucked stray hair behind my ear.

"Of course," I told him. But I wasn't ever going to put him in danger. "Don't forget to feed Bast," I told him, referring to the cat that we'd gotten together.

"How could I?" He kissed my forehead. "I love you."

"I love you, too." I told him.

I pulled away. He didn't know how hard it was to leave him; even if it was suppose to be an easy mission.

I couldn't say good-bye. I was afraid that would be jinxing it.

"Come on, Chris," I tugged on my best friend's hand. But I looked over my shoulder and smiled at Billy; my best friend; my lover; the man I'd do anything for.

He smiled back.

_Dear God, don't let this be _that_ mission. Let me come back to him. I love Billy Coen._

**Author's Note****:** For those of you who are ChrisXLeon fans, there **is** hope!

Pretty please with cherries on top, review!

~_HolleringHawk65_


	20. The Importance of Someone in Particular

**Helena 6:00 a.m. Trixie, California (her house)**

I couldn't sleep. Then again, I hadn't been able to really sleep for a few days.

I sat up in my bed, clutching my blankets around me. I kept hearing things, or thinking I heard things. The line between reality and hallucinations caused by sleep deprivation was wearing dangerously thin and was starting to rip.

Something tapped my window. I jumped slightly, until I realized it was the tree branch. You'd need a ladder to get to my window.

I relaxed into my bed, trying to remember how safe it used to make me feel. I wrapped myself into my soft, plush, thick, blanket, trying to get comfortable.

"Helena?" I heard a man's voice and my heart raced. I looked over my shoulder and saw Jack standing there.

_How did he get in here? _I don't remember opening my mouth to ask the question, but I guessed I had.

"I used the spare key Aaron gave me. I had to make sure you and Deborah were alright." He told me.

I sat up. "What happened?" I reached over to my side table and turned on my lamp so I could see better. He flinched at the sudden brightness.

"It's fine." He told me.

"So something happened that got you worried enough to come and check on us, but all you say is that 'it's fine?'" I asked him, starting to get up.

He placed his hands on my shoulders, making me sit back down. "Let me rephrase it, then. You don't need to know because it's being handled, alright?" I swallowed as I realized how close we were. And how he didn't make a move to adjust his position.

"If it concerns you, I think I should know." I said softly.

He cocked his head to the side slightly. "Why?" He asked.

"Because you saved me and I owe you something. And…and we're friends." I answered him.

He didn't say anything for a moment but we were looking into each other's eyes.

"Somebody tried to kill Nikita." He told me. "And Luis suggested to me I should check on you to make sure something didn't happen to you."

"Tell him I said thanks. I feel a lot safer with you here." I told him.

"I feel better being here; knowing that I'm here if something were to happen." He replied.

"Can you stay? I…I think I'd be able to sleep better."

He stood up and let go of me. "Yeah, I can stay."

I reached up and grabbed his hand. "In my bed," I whispered softly. I felt like my cheeks were on fire.

He didn't say anything, so I thought it was a no. I let go of his hand, dejected, and laid down, my back to him.

I gasped softly as I felt the weight in my bed shift. He put his arm over me and held me close.

I closed my eyes, leaning against him. I felt protected in his arms. Or, enough so that I could fall asleep.

I woke up to the sound of my sister scream. I opened my eyes, slightly dazed. I saw Deborah standing in the doorway.

"I can't believe it! You're a bigger slut then Mom was!" She told me.

"Wha?" I was so groggy from finally being able to sleep. I blinked and sat up to find myself with both of Jack's arms around me. "Deb, this isn't what it looks like. I didn't have sex with him!"

"Yeah, right; and the sun ain't shining somewhere today." My sister told me.

"I'm not lying! I…I just needed someone to sleep with me. Do you understand how sick I feel? All I wanted was for somebody to be there for me." I told him.

"Whatever," Deborah said in response.

I got up, getting out of Jack's arms. I rushed over to my sister. "You have to believe me! I…I…" The world seemed like it was spinning. I felt myself fall back, expecting to feel the hard wood floors. But I was caught in strong arms before that could happen.

I felt Jack pick me up and take me back to my bed. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was his blue eyes.

_The day was warm. I guess it was during spring, because the vine plants had flowers on them still._

_"Stop it!" I told Jack through my giggling. I was on his lap, my back against his chest, and he was kissing my neck, his stubble tickling my neck._

_We were in a room, somewhere far away from the reality back in Trixie. I could see an ocean or a sea from the balcony, the salt water air blowing from the water._

_"I love you," he whispered into my ear._

_I smiled as I looked at him. And then I turned around, wrapping my legs around his waist. "I love you, too." My hands rested in his hair as our lips met. Slowly, softly. _

One, two, three_._

I sat straight up in my bed. I looked at the clock and saw that it said it was 6:01 a.m.

"Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the stream.

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Life is but a dream."

I swear I heard somebody say it, but I was so tired I thought I was still in a lucid kind of dream state. Because there was no way that somebody was in my house.

I swallowed hard. Of course it was a dream. I returned to my previous thoughts.

Jack didn't love me. He wouldn't stay with me.

I got up and went downstairs to get a glass of water. Right after I'd put my glass down, I felt a cloth over my mouth. I tried to struggle, but I couldn't breathe. I fell against whoever it was.

The biggest difference between dream and reality—I'd _never_ felt _safe_.

**Kate 9:38 a.m. Virginia (The Hospital)**

"Steve, I'm fine." I told him as he was kind of fussing around me.

The doctors had deemed me fit (finally, thank god, I couldn't stand one more hospital meal,) and now I was going back to Leon's house.

I don't know why Steve was being nice to me. I figured that he was trying to butter me up for something, but I couldn't figure out what.

"I…I have something to ask you." He told me.

"Go ahead," I responded.

"How did Kollin first get you in bed?" He blurted out.

I looked at him. I was about to yell at him when I remembered that he was rash and didn't think his thoughts out. I thought he'd recant his question, but he said nothing.

"Um…flirting, a well cooked meal, uh…wine, let's not forget lots of wine; and a common interest." I explained.

"What was the common interest?" Steve asked me.

I didn't answer him. It was kind of embarrassing.

"Katie?" Steve brought me back from my thoughts right before we got into my car. He had opened the passenger seat for me.

"Um…you, I guess. I came to him, worried about how Wesker was treating you." I admitted. "It was before Manuela was here and you would flick in between human and B.O.W.." I explained to him. "Am I using that term right? Terminology is so confusing." I was trying to get off topic because my stomach did little flops (that I could confirm were not the baby) when I thought about Kollin.

"Oh…" He closed the door for me, then walked around the car and got into the front seat.

He drove in silence for a long time. I just looked out the window, resting my elbow next to it.

"Did you regret it?" Steve's tone was softer than before.

"I never regretted having sex with Kollin," I replied.

"Do you love him?" Steve asked.

That question caused me to look at Steve. He wasn't looking at me, but at the road. He looked kind of tense, but he almost always looked that way.

I thought about the question, and its answer, very carefully. In the softest voice I could manage, I answered it.

"No."

Right then we pulled into Leon's driveway. Wesker's Mustang was parked in front of us, and I watched as the blond got up and helped Sherry get out.

He was supporting her with his arm around her waist. She couldn't walk all that well; I had no idea why the doctors had allowed her to be discharged.

Someone opened the garage door and that was when Steve got out of the car. I opened my door myself, even though he'd been walking over to do it.

"I'm capable of opening a door," I told him, smiling a little bit.

He blushed slightly. "I know. I was trying to be nice."

We walked into the house, which I found eerily quiet. I noticed it then; Chris and Jill weren't there.

But Claire and who I assumed the guy that was her boyfriend were on the couch, cuddling. Leon was in the kitchen. Wesker was just helping an excruciatingly pale Sherry sit down on the leather chair, and then came over to Leon.

"I think I burned this…" The government agent said.

"No, it's fine." I found myself staring in amazement as Wesker stood behind Leon and held his gauzed up wrist, guiding it through the movements.

"Kate!" Leon had looked up and was smiling at me. Wesker let him go and took over the cooking.

My old best friend came over and hugged me. I swear, this was a complete 180 from when Chris was here. It felt…_odd_, and uncharacteristic from Leon.

But how could Leon not be Leon?

"Hi," I responded.

He pulled away soon, thankfully. "We're making chicken noodle soup and dumplings." He told us, smiling.

_Leon is making soup from scratch with Wesker? What is freaking going on?! _

"Okay…" I said, unsure of what he meant by telling me that. "Uh, I'm going to go take a shower." I told them.

I smiled politely at Claire and her boyfriend on my way up the stairs. When I was in my room, I grabbed clothes at random and then went into the bathroom. I took my clothes off and looked at my stomach in the mirror. Why did it look so terribly small compared to the rest of me? The doctor had said my baby was fine.

I hugged myself, biting back tears. I felt so alone doing this…

I took a long, hot shower; I was trying to clear my head. But I needed someone to talk to.

I sat down on the floor of the tub, letting the water run over my skin. All I wanted to do was close my eyes and never have them open again.

So, to put it simply, I wanted to die.

I don't know exactly why. I'm not trying to be dramatic; it's just that I feel like I've messed up so much, especially Leon and Chris.

I turned off the water, just sitting there. I had my knees up to my chin, and my wet hair was clinging to my neck. Something about it made me close my eyes.

_"Kate?" I heard the door open. _

_"Go away," I said weakly._

_The shower curtain was pulled back, revealing Krauser. "What the _Hell_ did you do to yourself?" He asked me._

_I looked at my bloody wrists. What had I done? I looked back at Krauser._

_He pulled me up like I weighed nothing. "Let's get you dressed," he muttered._

_He helped me into an old t-shirt and shorts, and had me sit down on the toilet lid. He took my forearm into his hands, cleaning it. He concentrated on just me. It was so different from Kollin. He never noticed the razor cuts._

_He wrapped gauze around it, tight but not tight enough to cut off circulation._

_"What's going on?" He asked me, looking up at me from his crouching position. His light, pale, blue eyes looked right into mine._

_"I…He told me he doesn't love me." I told Krauser. "Kollin doesn't love me."_

_He was quiet for a moment. "I know how you feel; when you love someone, but they don't feel the same. It's like their playing roughly with you without realizing it. You get used to it after a while and, eventually, you realize you're happy with that. Just being a part of their lives." He told me._

_"Who did that to you?" I asked him softly._

_He got up and shrugged. "That's not important, is it?" He helped me up. When we realized I couldn't walk well, he picked me up. My head rested against his chest; my arms were around his neck. "So, can you promise that you won't cut? It's not worth hurting yourself over." _

_"I…Yeah," I told him. "I promise."_

_He took me to my room and laid me down on my bed. He put the blanket over me. He was like a protective big brother to me. Almost like what I had had with Leon ever so long ago._

_"Good night, Kate," he told me._

_"Nightie night, Krauser," I told him smiling. I sleepily smiled at him, snuggling into my warm bed._

**Author's Note: **I don't purposefully mean to be difficult, but can you guess who took Helena? And can you see the difference between him and whoever saved Ada?

(Even) I think her dream-in-a-dream is really weird, and I kind of just through it in there.

So Kate and Krauser were friends...sorry if that seems out of character for him. I haven't played the Darkside Chronicles, and it's been a while for me and RE4.

Please review!

~_HolleringHawk65_


	21. To a 'Secret' Place

**Chris 11:30 a.m. Somewhere in New Jersey **

So, Dierks Bently has just released a new single, entitled "Long Trip Alone." Unfortunately for me, it reminded me I was alone in my truck on my way to save a girl I'd never met but Leon had saved (with Jack Krauser, to boot!)

I leaned forward and shut off the radio, preferring the silence that greeted me as I begun to sulk again.

I was getting close to Ocean City, probably only around twenty minutes away. I had no idea how Rebecca thought she was going to get Manuela to come with me/us. Especially if Manuela was with Piers (I think that's his name) in _that_ way.

I sighed as I stopped for a red light. Thankfully, it was well past vacation season and the only traffic present was from the people who actually lived in this area.

As I began to drive again, I thought about the last time I'd been here.

_Leon was asleep, as usual. He'd stopped caring about real rules and was unbuckled and his head was on my lap. I smiled down at my blond boyfriend, even though he wasn't awake to see it._

_I crossed the bridge that led to Ocean City. It was before the real vacation season, so traffic was light. It was two weeks before Memorial day, but this was the only time that fit with everybody's schedule enough that Leon could take a rare three days off._

I blinked, and reverted back to relief life. There was no reason for me to be reminiscing about any of that. I mean, there was…but I was trying to ignore that.

I looked in my rearview mirror and saw Rebecca behind me. We'd taken separate cars and routes so that (hopefully) no one would put together we were working on something; though I highly doubted that Governor Nivans' property wouldn't have any security cameras.

She drove around me and led the way to the Nivans' house. When I saw it, I was surprised. It was a town house (which meant it was on the small-ish side.) I mean, it was a nice looking beach house, but I was surprised that a governor wouldn't have a huge house. Maybe we wouldn't have to worry about cameras after all.

I noticed the Jeep with Massachusetts license plates. Somewhere, in my head, there was the distant sound of a (once) diabolical, (still) psychotic, (oddly always neat) blond haired, (creepily) red-eyed, 'man's' name.

I got out after Rebecca did. She was already at the door, and turned around to motion to me to come closer. I did, leaving only a little over a foot of space between us.

The door opened and I was surprised by the sight before us as the door opened.

He was only wearing a pair of faded jeans that were ripped on both knees. He had a toned stomach and tan-ish skin. His brown hair was sticking up a bit, almost like he'd just rolled out of bed, but it seemed more formed and on purpose than that (which means I'm suspecting the use of hair products.)

He smiled at Rebecca. "Hello," he said; his voice smooth. He looked at me, true green eyes flicking over my body. "Don't tell me you left Billy for him." He continued, sounding almost sympathetic.

I saw Rebecca blush. "What? No, never. Piers, this is Chris Redfield; we use to work together. He's come to take Manuela." Rebecca said the last part cautiously.

Piers said nothing for a moment. "Now why would he be doing that?" He asked us.

"He's trying to do that because it's either him or the government. A squad is scheduled to come," Rebecca stopped and checked her watch, "in less than two hours. So, please, Piers. Let Manuela go with Chris."

That's when I noticed her. She was standing behind Piers in the hallway. Her brown hair reached to her shoulder blades and she was dressed in a t-shirt that was definitely too big for her. I saw a wide, pale, scar on her right forearm. She had this look in her eyes that screamed she was defensive and it looked animalistic. I couldn't tell if I should be awed by this young woman in front of me or scared to death. But I'd dealt with Wesker and I'd seen quite a few people blow up (in anger) which was not the best things from these certain people.

I swallowed hard. _So this is her. This is the girl that Leon saved…_

She came closer to Piers, wrapping her left arm around his waist and guiding him away from the door, allowing Rebecca and me to come in.

"It's alright, Piers. I trust them. I don't want you to get hurt because of me, alright?" She told him. She looked so small compared to him.

"Ela, you can't be serious right now. You don't even know where he's taking you!" Piers responded.

She slowly touched his jaw. She rose onto her tippy toes and kissed his lips. "I'm serious. And it doesn't matter where he's taking me. I'll find out soon enough, and I'll call you when everything's safe again, okay? I won't be gone for long." She explained to him as she continued to look into his eyes, her hands now on his shoulders. He slowly nodded, even though I could tell he was upset.

I looked at Rebecca and watched as she wiped her eyes on her sleeve. I really felt for this guy; I'd be acting the same if it was Leon, and I probably would've accepted it like he had. And she was acting like Leon; as if everything was fine even though she (probably/most likely) knew that it _wasn't_.

She turned around to face me. "Just let us get together my things, okay? Then we'll get going to wherever our destination is." She smiled at me. It was a small, pretty, smile. But it showed me something…it told me that she was genuinely sad to be leaving. I wondered if anyone had seen Leon with that same smile.

Rebecca checked her watch again. She looked nervous; had she been lying about the time the squad was supposed to come? Would, _could_, Rebecca even _lie?_

Manuela pulled Piers up the stairs. Twenty minutes later, she came down with a duffel bag over her shoulder. She was now dressed in corduroys and a plaid button up.

Piers came down behind her, looking a lot more disheveled. He took Manuela's hand into his and pulled her back for another kiss. I looked away, but I could tell it was one of those silent good-bye kisses.

Manuela came over to me, walking out without looking at me.

"I'm going to go, but I'm coming back with the squad. Act surprised, Piers, your life might depend on it." Rebecca told me.

"Okay…" He sounded so sad. Did I ever sound like that? "Chris; take care of her for me, please. I love her." He said to me.

I came over and extended my hand. He took it and gave it a firm shake.

"I will, I promise you." I told the young man. He looked right into my eyes, his own glistening slightly.

I turned around and walked out.

**Krauser 8:48 a.m. Trixie, California (Helena's House)**

I got out of my truck and went up the brick walkway. My heart was hammering in my chest as I pressed the doorbell.

I stood there for two minutes and got…

nothing.

I checked the garage and saw Aaron's Chevy Tahoe still in the garage—he and Claire had taken Claire's car to the airport.

So Helena and Deborah had to still be home.

I went back and rang the bell again. When again, for another two minutes, there was no response, I started banging on the door.

Deborah opened the door, looking upset. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Did you know you're supposed to be getting ready for school?" I replied, taking note of her still being in her pajamas.

"Helena never woke me up; your obnoxious knocking did. Forgive me for not being the one who got the alarm clock for their birthday." She told me.

"Helena never woke you up?" I said, my voice choking. I'd barely been able to sleep last night, and when I had, I'd had the worst dream of seeing Helena tied with her hands above her head in a warehouse.

Hence the reason I'd come here.

"Yes, I just told you that."

I pushed past Deborah and went upstairs to Helena's room. The wind was suddenly gone from me when I found her bed empty.

A note was on the bed.

_You helped keep me from giving Ada what she deserves which the old you would never had done. You used to want her dead._

_When I woke up,—in a very cold place, by the way—I contemplated what had happened to you and came upon the conclusion that you don't even remember who you actually are._

_After that, I decided to use your suddenly convenient, not to mention obvious, soft spot for a certain brunette to my advantage._

_Next time, let Death take who he really wants._

I had no idea who this person was, but he was going to pay. And maybe it would be his life that would end.

I walked out of Helena's bedroom and saw Deborah crying. I couldn't comfort her right now; I was too on edge to be of any use.

"Don't call the police; I'll handle this." I somewhat assured her as I put the note into my pocket.

I left the house, anger fuming. I drove to Carlos's restaurant, because I knew that's where Nikita was and she had to know something.

I walked in and went to the stairwell to walk up into the apartment.

I opened the door to find Nikita awake and reading a book. I honestly didn't care.

She looked up and instantly noticed my mood.

"Something happened to Helena, didn't it?" She asked me softly.

"Yes," I hissed. But I couldn't _really_ blame this on her. She hadn't been the one that begged for Luis and me to help him (Carlos) into the hospital. She'd only been the _reason._

I balled my fists and took a deep breath. Then I took out the note and gave it to a patiently waiting Nikita. She read it quickly and then talked to me.

"I know where he'll be. This is Kollin, after all. He might be great, but he's predicatable. He'll be waiting somewhere big and abandoned near here. He likes knowing that people will search and search, but not be able to find him because he's right under their nose." She got up and went over to one of her suitcases. She opened it and pulled out a long knife—presumably the one she'd called about when she first got here.

"_SB _is for Steve Burnside and Sherry Birkin. _MH _is for Manuela Hildago. They put together their savings to get this for your birthday. When they gave it to you, you pretended like it didn't matter and Kollin laughed at them. But I saw you later that night and I knew it was the most precious present you'd ever gotten. You didn't take it to Spain because you didn't want anything to happen to it. I took it from your room because I didn't want anyone else to realize how important it was to you." She explained to me.

She pressed it into my hands. "_A_ and _W_ is for Ada Wong, or Albert Wesker. Either way, know that I'll be there in spirit. Go kill that son of a bitch, and let him know he shouldn't have ever messed with you or Helena." She told me.

I didn't know what to say. But I did know what I wanted to do. I bent down and my lips connected with hers. She brought me closer and she let that kiss continue.

"For good luck, Krauser," she whispered after it was over.

"For good luck, Ada," I responded.

Anger diminished, all I had left was the burning need to kill. It was growing in the pit of my stomach and was going to consume me. I remembered all the memories of killing people in my last life; I remembered puking all over the sidewalk like a drunken man last night at the thought.

Now, I was determined with the thought to kill Kollin. I remembered things that he had done; things he had _bragged _about. And _knowing_ he deserved to _rot in Hell._

**Author's Note**** : **An interesting piece of information is that for some reason, I started crying while writing about the knife. I honestly have no idea why.

So, tell me what you thought about this chapter in a review :) (please!)

~_HolleringHawk65_


	22. From Ocean City

**Manuela just past 12 Ocean City, New Jersey**

I had my face buried in my hands, and I was on the verge of just flat out sobbing. I hadn't wanted to cry this bad since I found out that Krauser was dead.

I looked up when the driver door of Chris's pick-up truck opened. He slid in and buckled up, saying nothing to me.

In fact, he didn't say anything to me until we were out of Ocean City. By then, tears were steadily flowing down my cheeks.

"God, you are just like Leon," he muttered.

Right. Chris Redfield. Leon's boyfriend.

_Just freaking great for me, isn't it?I'm stuck in a small, restricted space, with Chris Redfield. And he seems pissed off. I just can't win anymore._

I pulled my legs up, resting my feet on Krauser's old duffel back in front of me. I had put it on top of Chris's so it would take up less room.

I leaned against the door, my cheek resting against the window. It was cold against my skin and it got me to stop crying as much.

I wiped my eyes in an effort to stop completely. But…I loved Piers. Somewhere, I just started loving him. And it wasn't love that was induced because of the sex, but _real_ love.

_It's so stupid. I have these feelings but I can't tell him. I'd put Piers in danger if I did tell him._

The next few hours seemed to drag on. Chris had to pull me through the check lanes in the airports, something I'd never seen because the only time I'd been in a plane was with the government (who certainly don't follow normal airport operations.)

When we were on the plane (now in flight, by the way) Chris started talking to me.

"You met Jack Krauser, right? He was the other man that saved you." Chris unnecessarily reminded me.

"Yes. What is it to you?" I asked, taking my eyes away from the window and looking at the American. He was looking at me with expectant eyes.

"I…he's just somebody that Leon doesn't talk about much." He explained to me.

"Not surprising," I muttered under my breath. Something in me felt like it twisted up. I didn't like talking about Krauser to anyone except Steve. Sherry and Kollin could care less, Kate was only halfway conscious in this world, and Wesker was…intimidating, to say the least. Don't get me started on Ada...

Chris didn't say anything for a few minutes. Whenever Wesker talked about him, it had given me the impression that Chris was somewhat like a dog with a tennis ball; he wouldn't let it go, even if he broke it.

But right now, as I looked at him, he looked defeated and hopeless.

"You left Leon…" the words quietly slipped from my mouth.

He frowned. "How did you know I was ever even with Leon?" And then the dots must've connected in his head. "You're another one of Wesker's 'kids,' aren't you? It was him that 'rescued' you from the building, wasn't it?"

At least he was smarter then Wesker had implied.

I didn't say anything for a moment. I thought he'd say he was joking, or shake his head and say never mind. But he didn't, and kept looking at me with his inquisitive eyes.

"Yes," my voice was still soft. "Krauser was the one who saved me." And the tears that I had thought that I been keeping under control so well came pouring out. "And he's gone now and I still don't know how to live with it. The last words I said to him were fine, but I still feel like I _should've_ said _more_." I brought my hands to my eyes, trying to calm myself.

"Manuela, it's alright." Chris gently put his arms around my shoulders. "You can get through this. You have to know there was only so much you could have done differently and if the two of you left on good terms, what's there to feel guilty about?"

"I made him think Ada hated him and was going to leave us," I confessed. I had never told anyone that. "And I told Ada that he thought she was just a pawn. Then they tried to kill each other in Spain, and she won." I pressed my face into Chris's warm chest.

He didn't say anything and he just held me as I cried. I think that made it worse because I've gotten use to someone saying something sarcastic or trying to get me down.

Before I knew it, we were getting off the plane and we were in the California airport. We'd left New Jersey at 1:15 and it was only 1:45 here.

I followed Chris to the baggage claim. He handed me the old duffel, but not before I saw him notice that Krauser was embroidered on the side in black letters.

I shouldered it and continued to follow him to the payphone. He pushed two quarters in and then punched in a number.

"Hi, it's Chris." He said into it. "Hello, Aaron. Do you remember where you and Claire parked the car at the airport?" He paused, listening to the other man's response. "I have the keys. Tell Claire she can drive my truck as compensation. The spare keys are in my old room. Well, then that would be taking all of the fun out of it! Bye, Aaron, take care." He hung up the phone and looked at me.

"So, we have a ride. All we have to do is walk a little bit," he explained to me.

I nodded, quickly becoming indifferent to this situation.

We walked out of the terminal and into the parking garage. I followed Chris, unsure if I should be doing or saying something.

We walked up to a maroon sedan and Chris unlocked it. I walked around to the passenger seat and got in, still feeling massive amounts of awkwardness.

Chris drove his sister's car out of the garage and onto the highway. By the time we reached the town of Trixie, it was 2:26. 5:26 in New Jersey. What was going on there?

Chris stopped driving in front of a small restaurant. A sign on the door said 'Sorry, we're closed due to damage.'

We got out anyway.

He opened the door, causing us to hear the arguing going on inside.

"How could you do this!? He is _still_ unstable!" I heard a Spanish accent and saw a man with bright blue eyes standing next to another man and…

"_Ada?_" I gasped, my heart stopping.

The man with bright blue eyes turned around. Ada looked up at me, her eyes wide.

"This day just got a lot better." She muttered underneath her breath.

Chris took a deep breath. "Are you serious? Carlos, why is Ada Wong in your restaurant?" He asked.

"Ada who? This is Nikita," the other man said.

The blue eyed man looked at Ada. "Of course, no wonder _you_ triggered Jack's memories. I cannot express what I am feeling right now in English," he hissed the last word.

"_Luis, shut up. Right now_," Ada said. She walked over to me, on crutches I noted, rather please. "What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be cross country, safely tucked away with Steve and Sherry and Kate."

"You're behind on the times," Chris muttered.

She glared at him. "And _you're _supposed to be with Leon! Troubles in paradise?" she asked him.

I watched as his muscles stiffened. So something really bad _had_ happened…

"Are you alright?" I asked Ada, looking at her crutches.

"Kollin tried to shut me up by killing me. These two and…and Jack stopped him." She said, tilting her head to the two men. "Ela, this is Carlos Oliveira and Luis Sera." She introduced us.

Luis looked at me. I could tell he didn't really like me already. At least Carlos apologetically smiled at me.

"What can I get you two? We're _supposed_ to be closed," he looked at Ada, "but anything for a friend and his apparent friend."

Luis rolled his eyes and sat down on a chair. "I can't believe you, _Ada_," he said her name with as much scorn as he could. "You send Jack on what could just be on a wild goose chase for revenge when the woman he cares about is in danger!"

"What's going on here?" Chris asked them.

Luis looked at him. His eyes swept over him, plainly observing details about him. I had to admit I didn't like that. Chris was supposed to be with _Leon_, not a Spaniard miraculously resurrected from a _scorpion tail through the __**chest**__._

Carlos was the one to explain it all.

"A man named Henry Kollin tried to kill Nikita," he gestured to Ada, "when she was in the hospital after hurting her back. It was because she knew Jack-which kind of puts the rest of us in danger, doesn't it?-Because we stopped him, Kollin retaliated by kidnapping Helena Harper, who Jack apparently has feelings for. Kollin left a note saying that he was going to kill Helena and Jack went to Niki, which is when she told him where she thought he would be."

"Why the hell would this Henry Kollin guy care about Jack? I mean, who the hell is this guy?" Chris asked.

Luis rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Some Americans are so _dense_."

I thought I knew what was coming next. I didn't know if I was happy or angry when the words came out of Ada's mouth.

"Jack is Jack Krauser. He was Wesker's right hand man until we all thought he died last year in Spain." She said.

I fell to my knees, crying again.

_Krauser's alive. He's alive!_

My sobs came hard, but I realized they weren't sad tears.

They were happy.

**Rebecca 12:57 p.m. Ocean City, New Jersey**

"So I have a question for you guys," I said to the (all male, except for myself) squad. We were in a dinner, trying to sort stuff out (this was our team's ritual.) "Are we just going to walk up to the door and ask Piers for his girlfriend and assume he'll just hand her over?"

The four guys exchanged looks. Even they hadn't thought about that. It had been different when it was me and Chris, but in reality, a guy isn't going to give up the woman he loves if we don't have a good reason.

"We'll tell him the truth. We need this little mutant freak because she escaped three years ago." One of the men, J.R., suggested.

I rolled my eyes. "Because Piers will _so_ go for that."

The waitress came over with our check. We all chipped in the money for our respective orders and she came back to collect it.

"Clint, what do you think?" I asked the youngest member of our team. He was around twenty-one (I think...) with dirty-blond hair, green eyes.

He looked at me, right in the eyes. I swear this kid always looked sad (though occasionally there was a strike of anger. However, that was rare.)

"I think that this is bullshit. I get that people still find bio-terrorism a threat, especially now after Harvardville. But I read that girl's file and what we've done to her is just as inhumane." He said, getting up.

_There's that anger_, I numbly thought.

"Kid, where are you going?" J.R. asked him.

I watched as Clint walked out, and I found myself getting up and running after him. He was standing in the middle of the street as it begun to rain.

He looked at me, and I could feel the sorrow.

I went out into the street and grabbed his gloved hand. I pulled him out of the street and under an awning.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked him.

"What were you doing when you came here with Chris Redfield? When you told Manuela to go with him?" He asked me.

My face paled and I felt as if my blood was sinking to my feet, causing me to stand still. I thought I had been so careful…

"Clint…" I said softly.

"No, don't pull that _bullshit_ with me!" He told me, pulling away. "I can't believe you! How can _you_ sit in there and ask us questions you know aren't relevant?!" He yelled at me as the rain came down harder and harder.

I grabbed at his jacket, trying to get him closer. "Stop this!" I pleaded. "You aren't making my life any easier."

"And what about _my_ life? I was raised in the foster system because my parents had to _pick_ which child they kept!"

I stepped back. I saw that anger flashing, but at the same time, he was trying to control it. _Whatever is going on, it's ripping him apart._

"You can't come," I told him. "You _need_ to stay here, because you're going to blow a gasket otherwise."

He sat down on the extremely wet pavement. "Whatever you say, doc." His head tilted back, exposing his throat. He closed his eyes as the rest of the team came out.

"What the hell is going on with Clint?" Ken asked me.

I shrugged. My hair now plastered to my skin, I started walking towards the SUV. The rest of the team, except for Clint, quickly followed me. They all climbed in and we drove the few streets over to Piers' beach house.

"Let's take the diplomatic route. Ken, you and Rebecca go in and try to talk this chick into coming with us peacefully. Worse come to worst, sedate her." J.R. told Ken.

I sighed and looked at Derek, the other member of our group. He usually kept to himself, but I had noticed that he and Clint were close. At the moment, he was taking the silent course of action. His elbow was on the door and he was looking out towards the beach.

I got out with Ken and we went up to the door. Ken pushed the doorbell, while I just stayed right under the awning.

The door opened to reveal a solemn (and thankfully fully clothed) Piers.

"How can I help you to?" he asked us.

"We've come to talk about Manuela Hildago," Ken answered. He kept his voice level, unwavering, and confident.

"What do you want to know?" Piers questioned, not moving from his position in front of the door.

"Well, we were sent to take her into government custody." My comrade explained.

"I guess she kept one step ahead of you. She left last night." Piers told us.

"Any idea where she went?" Ken continued.

"No idea. She left when I was sleeping."

Knowing what I did, it was easy to see through Piers' lie. But I knew Ken bought it as he turned around and sighed.

We left Piers standing there in the doorway.

We returned to the dinner to get Clint and to get out of J.R.'s SUV.

I got out as soon as J.R. stopped driving and rushed over to Clint. He looked like he was asleep…or that he was dead…

I felt for his pulse on his neck. It had a slow, steady pulse, which I found myself grateful for.

His eyes opened and he looked at me. "Came back for me, eh? Here I thought I'd be sitting here until the world ended."

Derek came over. "Come on, get up Clint." He told the younger man, extending his hand.

He looked down at his boots before accepting Derek's hand. He stumbled forward and Derek wrapped his arms around him.

"Crap, you're getting heavy." Derek teased.

"Shut up," I barely heard Clint's muffled voice against our (slightly) older friend's chest. The latter grinned before moving them both so that Clint's arm was around his shoulders.

"Why don't you guys come to my house? It'd be nice to have the two of you over, and this way we can just drive to Maryland." I offered the two.

"Sure, sounds good to me," Derek said, already taking a half-conscious Clint over to my car.

They sat in the backseat while I drove.

And the weirdest part was that this felt _normal_.

**Author's Note****:** So...is anyone happy about Manuela finding out about Krauser? Or angry that she tried to get Ada and Krauser apart (which apparently worked)?

And who are Clint and Derek? (because, yes, they are both important :)

Please review!

~_HolleringHawk65_


	23. Old Memories

**Annette Birkin : November 30, 1986 11 something p.m.**

I was basically at the end of my last trimester. The funniest part that instead of William being the one who was protective, it was Wesker. When we found out my 'predicament' (as he called it) he decreased my work load by doing some of it himself.

We grew to be close friends, with Wesker checking in on me at least once an hour. And, by now, he rarely left my side.

I was over by one of the tables when the cramps started. I had had cramps a lot, so I didn't think too much of it. I reached into my lab coat pocket, but my gut felt like it tightened up. I dropped the (thankfully empty) vial from my left hand, sending it crashing to the floor.

I doubled over from the pain. A cry escaped my lips, but I was the only one down here today. Before I knew it, Wesker was there, taking me into his arms. I whimpered like that first night; I begged for the pain to stop.

And I started crying because I knew what this meant.

I think this was the one time Wesker abandoned all protocol. He didn't sign out of the lab, he didn't lock the doors; he hadn't done so many things that I lost count.

I realized as Wesker put me into the passenger seat of his Mustang the most important thing Wesker hadn't done.

"You didn't tell William," I said in a whisper as he got into the driver's seat. He quickly buckled up, avoiding answering me.

"I can't, Annette. He…the babies…" My blond best friend shook his head. "It's not worth it. It'll add onto the pain."

I swallowed hard. I knew he was right, but that didn't mean I liked it.

Wesker broke the speed limit to get me to the hospital. He was quick to get out of the car and pick me up again. All I could do was cry from the pain the contractions gave me.

But somewhere in between a short wait due to lack of people being there (it was nearing midnight) and the pain, I managed to tell Wesker something.

"If…if it's the boy;" I hissed from pain, "I want his name to be…to be Clint." I told him.

The rest of it went by quickly. I remembered holding onto Wesker's hand, my nails digging into his palm. That odd silence as the first baby came out, but I had to focus on the second.

There was more crying from the pain. How I wished they'd give me painkillers! But there was no time for that right now…

I heard the high crying of a baby. I looked up to see Wesker holding a little human in a (pink) blanket. I swallowed hard, panting from it all.

My best friend bent down and handed me my daughter. She was the one who was giving that newborn baby cry. I touched her forehead and then held her to my chest.

"My little Sherry," I said softly.

I looked up and saw a nurse talking to Wesker outside of my room. He was remaining rather stoic, but I saw his muscles tense. The nurse was clearly agitating him.

He came back in and sat down next to the hospital bed to my left. He stared at the wedding band on my left finger for what felt like eternity.

"Is everything alright?" I asked him, concerned because he had a certain look on his face.

His eyes met mine. "Annette…I'm sorry." He said softly.

I looked down at Sherry. We had both known since that night that only one child could stay with William and me.

"Annette!" I looked up at the door and saw William standing there. "I'm so sorry, honey. I-I was in the lab, testing-" his lips closed as he looked at Sherry.

"Is that our daughter?" He asked softly.

I nodded, smiling. "This is Sherry Alice Birkin," I told my husband. I glanced at Wesker, who was smiling now; we'd actually gone out to lunch one day and had a very long discussion about baby names. He'd had liked Alice, but I liked Sherry. This was a compromise.

William came and kneeled down next to the bed. He looked at Sherry with wide eyes, as if he was a child again and he was in a gigantic candy store, and he'd found a whole wall dedicated to his favorite candy.

_That's not good, why am I comparing my daughter to _candy_?_

"I should leave you two alone," Wesker told us, getting up. I'll always think he never fully got over William. Or the two just remained at an impasse. "I'll check in later, alright?" He bent down to kiss my forehead. As he straightened, I saw how he glanced at down at Sherry. He swallowed hard and then walked out.

"Can I hold her?" William sounded more like a fellow child then a father.

"Of course," I told him, trying to smile. But something in the back of my head was nagging at me.

And that something was the child, _my_ child, that hadn't cried.

**Krauser: Back to Present Day Trixie, California 2:30 p.m.**

_Finally…this has to be it…_

I pushed the door open with the toe of my boot. In that moment, I was eerily reminded of my dream.

_Don't be dead, don't be dead, be alive. _I begged Helena in my head.

The warehouse was large and, like Ada/Nikita said it would be, abandoned. I only knew that Kollin was here because of a gut feeling I had.

I walked in, and I saw Kollin standing there. Memories flashed through my head, and I felt adrenaline rush through my system.

"Seeing you up close and personal is very different then from across the street." He commented.

I saw Helena tied up to a chair and gagged, still in her pajamas. _She's alive; we're all good. All I need to do now is kill this son of a bitch._

"Actually _seeing_ you feels like a first," I replied, coming closer.

He ignored me."The lone bear begins its hunt, I see. What do you plan to do? Kill me? You've had plenty of opportunities before," he paused for a moment. "Though, as I recall, you _did_ put me in the hospital for a few days; but you were _younger_ and _more_ muscular back then."

I didn't say anything, but looked at Helena again. Her eyes were closed, but I saw her chest going steadily up and down.

"Just let Helena go, please." I told Kollin.

He grinned. "I always loved it when you asked me for favors. It made me feel superior that the _great Jack Krauser_, _Silverdax_, asked _me_ for something."

"Like you never asked me for anything," I responded.

He raised his eyebrows. "Exactly what _do_ you remember, Silverdax?"

"I _don't_ remember why you call me that." I answered him. "I don't really know who Albert Wesker is, or Steve Burnside. But I do remember that you are the biggest _dick_." I reached for my knife in my belt.

The one Ada had given me.

The one that she had told me meant so much but I couldn't remember.

"Krauser!" I spun around at the sound of my name.

A girl stood there; one of the girls from the memory of me and Ada saving them from the federal building. _Manuela?_

I look behind me a second too late. Kollin tackled me, throwing me to the ground. We rolled around, me trying to get a hold on him. I grabbed his silk sleeves and pulled, causing them to rip. I dug my nails into upper arms and then tried to lever myself on top of Kollin.

I kneed him in the crotch, earning a gasp from him.

"Krauser, stop it!" I felt hands on me, trying to yank me off Kollin.

I looked up and was met with the bright blue eyes of my best friend. "_Luis_, let me go!" I watched as a man (who was bigger than _me_) dragged Kollin off.

Luis let go of me, which is when I realized Ada was there. She was coming in, pushing Manuela aside. She looked at me as if she was genuinely cared about what was going on.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the big bear of the man getting pushed away by Kollin. Ada was getting closer.

Kollin pulled out a gun.

My mouth started to open, to warn her.

"Ada!" I cried out her name. She stopped too late, and I heard the gun go off.

I pushed Luis away and I was at Ada's side. The bullet had hit her in the right shoulder. I found myself clutching her to my chest; exhaling a breath of relief that I hadn't know I'd been holding in.

"You're alright," I said into her neck.

She smiled weakly and put her left arm around my neck. "I've gone through worse." She replied.

I pulled away and went over to Kollin. He was grinning like a mad idiot.

"Come on, Silverdax, we both know you want to kill me. So get it done and over with. Butcher me with your knife in front of the women who think so _highly_ of you." He told me.

I looked at Helena and saw she was awake. Her eyes were glazed over; she was, after all, just waking up from being (presumably) drugged. I looked towards the door and saw Carlos was now standing next to Manuela. My gaze returned to Kollin.

"I _should_ kill you, but I won't. Not yet, anyway. I know you too well and Death shouldn't die like this." I told him. "But if I ever find out you're back in _my town_, I won't hesitate to kill you."

I leaned forward and whispered into his ear: "but that won't stop me from doing this," I jammed my knife into a part of his leg where it wouldn't kill him. Just cause a permanent limp.

I got up, somehow taking pleasure in the flash of pain across his face; this man rarely showed true emotion.

Ada was standing up now, leaning against the wall. Her left hand was covered in blood from her shoulder. She tilted her head in the direction of Helena.

Right.

She'd been the reason I was here in the first place.

It was bad of me to have forgotten, isn't it?

I went over to Helena and cut the bonds away. I untied her gag and threw it in Kollin's direction.

"Are you alright?" I asked her. I saw no bruises or open wounds. At least Kollin had had the sense to keep her in one piece.

She nodded, putting her arms around my neck. Within a moment, her face was pressed against my neck as she begun to cry. I patted her back, trying my best to be reassuring.

"Just take me home, please." She pleaded to me.

"Okay," I heard myself say. I picked her up, glancing at Ada. She looked sad, but didn't say anything.

I saw Carlos look at me, eyebrows arched. I knew what that meant without him speaking.

_What the Hell are you doing with the two of them?_

I walked out, ignoring it all, and carried Helena to my pick-up. I got in and forced myself to drive calmly; for Helena's sake.

I took her home, just like she'd ask me to. There, we found Deborah was sitting at the couch, staring at the wall. She looked up and saw her sister in my arms.

She was up and practically jumping around my feet. "Thank you, thank you so much Krauser;" the youngest Harper told me as I carried Helena upstairs.

I laid her down on her bed, where she reached out and grabbed my hand.

"Don't leave me, please. I know you've done so much for me, but…but I need you." She told me.

I glanced at her sister, gesturing for her to go away with one hand.

Helena smiled weakly. I sat down on her bed, feeling rather awkward.

"All you have to do is hold me," she explained.

I put my arms around her…but they felt empty, like Helena wasn't enough…

I closed my eyes, trying to relax. But it didn't work. Eventually, exhaustion wore me down and I blacked out.

_"Jack?" Ada's voice was barely a whisper. Her head was against my chest as I held her._

_"Hhm?" I stroked her short, silky hair._

_"I love you," she told me._

_I felt myself smile as I stopped stroking her hair. Her head lifted up—I saw a worried look in her eyes before I spoke._

_"I love you, too, Ada."_

_She put her head back on my chest. "Good night, Jack."_

_My girlfriend fell asleep in my arms._

I woke up with a jolt. I looked at the clock and saw it was 5:30 p.m. Helena was still asleep in my arms.

_What the Hell was that?_ I silently asked myself. Was it a lucid dream or a memory? _The downfall of memory loss; you don't know what to do when you remember them._

**Author's Note****: **I honestly want to know what you readers want: Krauser with Helena or Krauser with Ada? I think Ada is more logical, but I really want the 'public's' opinions! ;)

And I guess this chapter also 'hints' at who Clint is…but what about Derek?

Please review/favorite/follow!

~_HolleringHawk65_


	24. If He'sCan't Lose Her (to Anyone)

**Jill 8:39 p.m. Maryland (where do you think? Rebecca's house)**

I drove down Rebecca's unbearably long driveway. But if there was one place of the East Coast that was sure to be free of Wesker, it was here.

I stopped when I saw the kitchen light was on. Of course I knew that Rebecca and Billy would be home, but I didn't expect them to have company. I found myself sinking down in my seat, not sure if I should actually get out or not. There was still time to do a K-turn and leave.

I was hungry though. And very, very close to begging for food (I'd been foolish enough to leave all of my credit cards at Leon's house and I only had $3.61 left in my pocket.)

I got out, trembling from the cold because all I had on was a long sleeved shirt. I walked up to the porch and knocked.

The door opened and Rebecca was there, smiling as if that was her job. She looked over me, concern quickly filling in her eyes. "Jill, get in here or you'll catch a cold!" She said, taking my hand and pulling me in.

I was relieved at the warmth as it flowed across me. "Thanks," I said softly.

"This is _so_ weird! Two fellow co-workers both come in less than twenty-four hours when I barely hear from either!" And somehow, despite how the words may look, she didn't sound spiteful.

"Two?" I asked. Last I'd heard from Barry, he was still in Canada.

"Yeah, Chris was here earlier…wait, you don't know? Chris left Leon." Rebecca told me.

"Of course I didn't know! I left Leon's house because of Wesker and-"

"_Wesker_?" Rebecca choked out. "What is he doing at Leon's house?"

We were clearly both very behind on some things. "It's a long story, involving Sherry Birkin and various other people who I don't feel like talking about." I told her.

I looked past Rebecca and saw a young man in the door. He looked at me, but it wasn't in the way I usually got looked at. This was the way that Leon looked at me; he was trying to figure out how I fit into a bigger puzzle.

Rebecca turned around to see who I was looking at. "Oh, Clint! Come over here! This is Jill Valentine, Jill, this is Clint…" She frowned. "We've been working together for over a year now; you'd think that I'd know your last name."

I saw another man (who was definitely not Billy) come in, his shirt off. "I thought I heard a new voice." He said, smiling. Clint watched him, clear wary of something.

The new man turned and stopped. "Clint? What's wrong?" He went over to him.

"Nothing, Derek. I'm gonna hit the sack. It was nice meeting you, Jill. 'Night, Becky," he said to us as he walked out and to the direction of the guest bedrooms.

"Hi, Jill," I heard Billy say as he came in from the kitchen. Why was _Rebecca_ surrounded by all the hot guys? She was the loyal one!

"Hello, Billy," I replied, looking at the ex-marine.

"Don't tell me you're here to go off on another stupid mission with Becky, are you?" He asked me.

"No, I left my credit cards at Leon's house and I was hoping to stay far, far, _far_ away from that place." I explained to him.

"It seems like everybody is!" Rebecca joked. "Anyway, why don't you take a shower? I'll go get you some extra clothes," she told me.

"Oh, alright," _and here I thought she didn't like me_.

You see, Rebecca and I have a long history in a short amount of time. It involves a lot of Rebecca relying on Chris while he and I had our fling until Billy showed up and then she was all over him like an ant to sugar. _So_, then the two of them were together and Chris was all mine until I realized that he really wasn't a suitable replacement for Wesker (never mind the fact I didn't know that Chris was gay, or at the very least bi-sexual…but then again, you'd have to blind not to like Leon, and even then…)

Rebecca showed me to the bathroom and then walked out to get me some clothes. She came back with flannel pajamas, a tank top, a robe, and fresh soap.

"Thank you," I said to Rebecca.

She smiled at me. "Anytime for you, Jill; you _are_ one of Chris's best friends." She said before she left the room.

I took a quick shower and then got into the clothes. It felt strange; being in another person's bathroom, their clothes…it almost felt like I was ignoring what was going on back in Virginia.

Which was basically me ignoring Wesker after years of thinking he was dead.

I leaned against the counter. Right…ignoring Wesker…I took a deep breath, turned around, and looked into the mirror. What had Wesker ever seen in me?

I jumped as the door suddenly opened, only just barely missing me.

"Oh, sorry!" It was Derek and he seemed very, very drunk.

"It's alright; I was just standing here, so it's my fault." I tried to joke. He laughed, which was a sound I could instantly place as practically just like Wesker's rare laugh.

"I was just trying to use the bathroom; I can just go use one of the other ones. There's so many in here," he explained. He was right, too. This building used to be a bed & breakfast, so there were a lot of various kinds of rooms.

He turned around and I saw an unusual mark on his back, on his right shoulder blade. Something about the mark (which was some symbol I distantly remembered to be Celtic) seemed achingly familiar…

"Mmhm, good night, Jill," he said to me, stumbling down the hall way.

_Crap, where's he from? I know I've seen him before. I know he's done something…Maybe it was from my time with S.T.A.R.S.? Ugh, that was so long ago though…_

"Good night, Derek," I said to him.

I walked back to the living room, where Billy was on the couch, reading a book. Rebecca was in the kitchen, singing some country song loudly.

"If you want to drink, there's plenty left over. Those two can't hold their alcohol to save their lives," Billy told me. He didn't seem upset. I'd actually describe him as rather 'mellow,' (but not in the drunk or high way.)

"I'm good. I can't hold my alcohol that well either," I admitted to him.

Billy chuckled before returning to his book. I walked into the kitchen just to make sure that Rebecca wasn't doing anything potentially hazardous to her life.

She was sitting cross legged on the dining room table in front of a canvas. She was painting rapidly, giggling and singing as she did. I was clearly reminded of a child. The thought created a pang in my chest because I started to think about Sherry…

Who was in Virginia…

With Wesker…

I walked out and back into the living room. "Good night, Billy," I said to the older man.

"Good night, Jill," he said back, only briefly looking up to give me a small smile before he was back to reading.

I walked back to the guest rooms, where I passed by an open door. The bed had a mess of clothes on it, and I saw a bag in the corner. They definitely didn't belong to Billy or Rebecca, which meant they belonged to Clint or Derek…

Curiosity got the better of me. I went in and kneeled down next to the bag, unzipping it and looking at the contents.

I saw an envelope and pulled it out. I took it out and saw that it was addressed to Derek (Carter) and it was from an Allen Carter. The Post Office stamp was from a place in New York.

I took the actual letter out of the battered (and opened) envelope.

_"Dear Derek,_

_I'm sorry I haven't written sooner, but I've been tying up loose ends in the business. How are you? Last time we were in real contact, you were wriggling your way into government spec ops, correct? How has that turned out? And are you in need of more of the serum? Wasn't the last time before last September?_

_Before I decide not to, I wanted to ask about Clint. I know I told you that I wouldn't ask, but that was before his parents died…so how is he? When you sent me that picture, I could barely believe it. He has grown with very similar characteristics to his mother…Maybe it is for the best that you don't tell me…_

_From, _

_Al,"_

I stared at the letter. The neat, precise handwriting was all too familiar. I'd stared at it daily eight years ago. After all, it was Wesker's.

But how did he know Derek?

My thoughts were cut short when I was getting up and I felt a tap on my shoulder. I nearly jumped, my heart starting to race. I turned around, feeling my face go pale.

Derek was standing there. I instantly noticed the red cat eyes.

"Oh, god," I whispered softly.

He glanced down at what was still in my hands. I gulped as he took it.

"Don't be scared. I wouldn't hurt you." He told me. His eyes flicked over the writing. I think he must've read it a lot before, because he took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "Why are you so nosey?"

"I-I don't know." I stammered.

He smiled a little bit. Of all the times I'd mentally (and, very rarely, verbally) compared Wesker to a cat, it'd be as a joke (his last name does sort of rhyme with whisker). But, as I looked at Derek, I saw it in his eyes that he was delighted in this like a cat with a ball of yarn.

**Aaron 11:00 p.m. Virginia (Leon's house)**

I was lying back on the bed, waiting for Claire to come in from the bathroom. It'd been a long day, filled with weirdness from everyone. There were a few constants though…

1) Sherry was very frail. She had all the men (except for me) _and _Claire running around when she even mentioned she wanted something.

2) Kate was not happy about this. Apparently, there was some sort of feud between the two, whether Sherry actually realized it or not.

3) Steve was…not angst-y, but even when Sherry was around, his mind seemed to be in a dark place.

I was pulled from my thoughts when Claire came in. Her hair was still wet and it was down (a rare sight on her.)

I propped myself up on my elbows, looking at her. She was wearing a long sleeved nightshirt that hugged her hips.

My girlfriend laid down next to me, putting her head on my chest. I smiled and kissed the top of her forehead. She relaxed against me, sighing softly.

"Aaron, can you please rub my back?" She asked softly.

I smiled at her, "Of course."

She sat up cross legged. I kneeled behind her, massaging the stiff muscles. She sighed softly, pushing back against me as she let out a vibrating, purr-like, sound from her throat.

"Oh, Airy, _just_ like that," she said softly. "It feels so _good_ after today. It's like everybody is haywire without Chris." She looked up and our eyes met. I leaned forward and my lips brushed against hers. I wish I could make love to her, but I know she would find it awkward, with this being her brother's _old _room and everything. "I mean, Wesker is nice and Leon is nice _to _Wesker!" She finished, pulling away from me slightly.

_Right, like I know either of them well enough to know that's out of character for them. _I thought to myself. I laid back down, looking at Claire. Her lips were pursed slightly as she turned to look at me. She sighed and laid back down next to me, opting to use my chest as a pillow.

She was soon asleep, but I stayed awake. Something was nagging me in the back of my head…

I considered calling Helena, but I wasn't sure what she'd be doing right now, and I didn't want to bug her.

When I was sure Claire was very, very asleep, I slowly got out of bed and went downstairs. Something was really bothering me, but I couldn't place my finger on it.

As I was walking down the stairs, I was aware that Wesker and Steve might be asleep and I could possibly wake them up, which I feel wouldn't bode well for me. But I continued my descent, figuring what was done was already done.

I found no one downstairs, which only enhanced my decision to make warm milk. It's what my father had done for me, and what I did for my sisters, so I'd come to the conclusion that it did work.

I had just put the milk in the microwave when somebody talked behind me.

"Whiskey works better," I turned and saw Steve standing by the counter. He smiled slightly at me. "Or at least that's what I've heard."

"I usually don't drink," was my response.

He nodded. "That's part of the reason Claire likes you. She sees you're a good guy, and that's what she's likes; good and safe." If I didn't know better, I'd think that Steve was drunk. But hadn't he been with Sherry all day?

"Do you have a point?" I asked him.

He shrugged and went over to the fridge and got out two bottles of water. "I guess not. I'm just reminding you you're right up Claire's alley." He told me.

I watched him until the microwave went off. I opened it and got out my steaming cup of my milk. I noticed that Steve was now watching me, his grey eyes never leaving me.

Least to say, it was beyond unnerving.

"Well, good night, Aaron." Steve said, walking past me.

"Sleeping with Sherry?" I asked, meaning for it to come across as playful. From what I gathered, Leon and Wesker had set up another bed in the library upstairs.

He stopped walking halfway across the living room. "No, Wesker is tonight. She needs him because he's her prized teddy bear. I'm that old stuffed dog in the corner, buried underneath all of her new toys," he said, his voice steely. "Kate and I are talking up in her room, and she had asked for water." He explained.

"Oh. I'm sorry." How do you respond to that? Especially since Claire had seemed so sure that Sherry and Steve were together…

He shrugged and resumed walking across the living room and going upstairs.

I stayed in the kitchen for a little while longer. I eventually went back to the room I was sharing with Claire and got back into bed with her. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her close, remembering how dear to me she was; how much I loved her.

I don't know what I'd do if I lost her.

**Author's Note: **I was so excited about posting this chapter; I hope ya'll like it too! :D Please review :)

~_HolleringHawk65_


	25. An Interlude of Sorts

**Kate: Virginia (Leon's House)**

I woke up to the sound of pencil on paper. I sat up and saw Steve bent over a notebook, writing furiously, at the desk. I saw three cans of Dr. Pepper on the ground and one next to him.

His brown hair hung in front of his eyes. He didn't seem to know that I was awake, or, at the very least, acknowledge that he knew I was. He just continued writing and writing, flipping pages and starting filling blank pages over and over.

I slowly got up, walking over to Steve, and reached out to touch his shoulder. He visibly jumped and looked at me. He smiled, instantly relaxing.

"Good morning, Kate," he said to me.

"Good morning, Steve," I said in return.

"Sorry if I woke you up, I was…" he gestured to the notebook, "I was doing this."

I knew that Steve wrote when he was frustrated. It was just something that he'd always done, and was most likely never going to change. It was a rather endearing quality—after all he'd been through, one might have expected him to go into a rampage when angry, but all he did was grab a notebook and a pen and he'd retreat to his room, rather than have a verbal or physical confrontation.

"It's fine," I told him. "What's this story about?" I asked.

He blushed. "It's nothing, really, just a few blurbs thrown together."

I took the notebook out from under him and started reading out loud. "And there she was, blonde hair cascading down her back. She was more beautiful than any other person he'd ever seen, but to complicate matters, she wasn't the woman he was betrothed to."

I raised an eyebrow.

"That's Sherry. She's actually the betrothed, but the prince doesn't know that because she was taken in by her godfather, the king, and when he asked her who her parents were, she had told him that her father was an alchemist," Steve quickly explained.

"That's quite the analogy," I teased, causing him to turn a brighter red. I smiled as I returned the notebook and then went to retrieve some clothes. "I'm going to take a shower, will you be alright?"

The young brown haired man nodded at me, shooing me off. I gave him a friendly kiss on the forehead before I left the room.

I practically hopped in and out of the shower, brushed my teeth, did my hair, and got dressed into clothes that would soon have to be replaced by maternity clothes—I cringed at the thought of _that_ expense.

I went back into my room to find Steve still hunched over the journal. He stopped, put down his pen, and got up. He came over to me and gave me a tight hug, pressing his face against my shoulder.

"I hate her," he told me, though I had no idea who he was talking about. When he said 'hate' and 'her' in the same sentence, it used to refer to Claire. Now I was getting the vibe that it could also mean Sherry. "Do you hate her; Sherry?"

"Our relationship is complicated," I told him, avoiding an outright answer. Did I hate her? Did I have any _reason_ to hate her?

Steve looked at me, his grey eyes boring into me. He leaned forward slightly…

I didn't realize until his lips were against mine that he was kissing me, or had any intention to do so. I was four years older than him, but that didn't seem to matter as the kiss deepened.

Or the tiny fact that I was carrying Kollin's baby.

He had me against the wall; not forcefully, just against it.

"Steve," I said as he pulled away from my lips and started kissing down my neck. "Steve, you should stop," I told him.

He did, looking at me in slight confusion.

"You don't hate Sherry," I reminded him. "You love her, and you're only doing this because you're angry that she wants Wesker to be with her."

He stepped back, looking down. "I don't love her. I _thought_ I loved her, but I don't. Kate, why don't you believe me? I don't love Sherry."

"Then who do you love, because it sure as hell ain't me!" I responded, probably a little bit too loud.

"Claire!" he yelled back.

I felt my mouth open, my eyes widen. "But…"

"But what? I've spent the last three and a half years telling everybody I hated her? Kate, I can't hate her. I tried, and it just doesn't work." He sighed and rubbed his temples as he sat down on the bed. "I really tried. I thought about all of her 'bad' qualities, and I realized I found them endearing. I tried to listen to Wesker's endless rants about Chris, and I found that I couldn't apply any of that to Claire. I finally settled on the fact she seemed to not care about what happened to me. So I finally told myself I didn't love her anymore. But when I saw her at the hospital… All of it came rushing back. Now she's with Aaron though, and he's good for her; better than I could ever be.

"I _tried_ to tell myself I loved Sherry when I saw Claire as I walked in. But there's nothing there, Kate, I can't do it," he finished.

I sat down and put my arms around him. "It's alright," I told him. "Nobody's perfect, but that's what makes love interesting."

He got up. "I'm…Kate, I'm gonna head out for a while. Do you need anything?"

"I'll just go with you," I told him. He smiled at me as I reached for my coat and we went downstairs.

Leon had already been up and left a note on the fridge for taking care of Amber. He'd already fed her and took her out, but she'd need to walked again in about an hour. Said dog was nowhere to be seen, so we assumed she was in with Claire and Aaron because she seemed to despise Wesker.

I wrote a note of my own, just telling those still in the house that the two of us were just out to the store and to call my cell if they needed us.

When outside, I found myself in a predicament. Wesker's car was blocking mine in, since we had both had to park on one side of the driveway so Leon could get out of the garage.

Steve smiled, pulling a set of keys out of his pocket. My eyes widened as I realized they were for the Mustang.

"We shouldn't," I started to say, but Steve was already in the car. I trudged forward, sitting in the passenger seat. "He's going to kill us," I told him, sounding like a worried teenager.

"He won't lay a hand on you," he assured me as he backed out of the driveway. I was surprised that Wesker had rushed out of the house and the sound of his car starting, but, seeing as he hadn't, I forced myself to relax against the seats as Steve drove to Target.

Once at the store, we both got Starbucks before walking around. I wasn't sure if there were groceries that needed to be bought or if I should already being buying things for the baby…

Sipping on my hot chocolate, I watched Steve went over to the CD's. He picked up an album, smiling. "This band is awesome, Kate, you should listen to them," he told me, coming over to me and placing the CD in my hands.

"Panic at the Disco?" I asked him.

"Don't judge a band by its name," he told me. "Seriously, get it! It's only ten dollars."

"'It's only ten dollars,'" I teasingly mocked.

He rolled his eyes.

I held onto the CD as we walked through the store. We were about to check out with the few things we got when I heard my naming being called. I felt like a deer in headlights as I turned around and saw Stacey.

"I heard about you being in the hospital," she said, frowning. "Are you alright?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Steve tense. It was brought to my attention that he might not know her.

"I'm definitely better," I said.

"I heard that Chris left; he went to Rebecca's house," Stacey told me.

"Oh, I…" was at a loss for words. I had, of course, known Chris was gone, but I had had no idea where'd he gone off to. I guess knowing this was better than knowing nothing.

"But Billy told me that Chris went to California," Stacey added.

Not that surprising—he had lived there.

"And now Jill is in Maryland," Stacey also said.

"That's, um, nice, I suppose. I've heard it's very beautiful," I said, feeling awkward. I glanced at Steve and saw his eyebrows arched, as if to say **_That's_**_ the best you can come up with?_ "We really have to check out and go home; I'll see you later, alright?"

Stacey smiled. "Definitely; see you later, Kate!"

I was relieved as she turned around and walked away

When I turned around, Steve had a specific smirk on his face.

"You're not going to tell Wesker about Jill, are you?" he asked me.

"I wasn't planning to; were you?" I asked back. "I mean, I want to stay as far away from that relationship as I possibly can."

"I agree. It's none of our business, and if Jill really wants to talk to Wesker, she will," Steve told me. "She is, apparently at least, a very capable woman."

"Agreed," I said as I handed the cashier my credit card.

**Author's Note****:**

Hello! It's been an awfully long time for this fic, hasn't it? I apologize greatly; I've been working on my real writing, but I'm working myself back into fanfiction!

Please review!

~_HolleringHawk65_


	26. Going, going, gone!

**Luis: Trixie, California (the restaurant)**

I paused in the middle of my game of solitaire. Jack hadn't come home last night, leading me to assume he had stayed with the Harper girls.

Because of this, I had stayed over at Carlos's and was now enjoying breakfast and a rather quiet morning at his still rather closed restaurant.

"Wait, let me get this straight," Carlos said, addressing Chris and Ada. "Luis and Jack were actually on the island where Leon was sent to last year, and both _died_ there." The two of them had been trying to explain this situation for the past fifteen minutes. It had been touched upon yesterday, but we were all too caught up in the moment to explain the details.

Meanwhile, the young girl, whose name I had discovered to be Manuela, was picking at an omelet in front of her. We'd barely spoken a word to each other, but I could tell that she was distraught—if nothing else—over Jack being alive.

When the door opened, she instantly looked over her shoulder and watched as the two Harper girls walked in.

Jack wasn't with them.

I felt my heart stop. _God damn it! Why hadn't I checked on him last night? Why hadn't I ever enforced a rule saying that he had to tell me where he was going to be? Damn it, damn it ,damn it!_

Just when I was about to start panicking, the blond walked in. His blue eyes found mine and he smiled at me.

He stopped next to Manuela, kneeling down next to her.

"I guess we have a lot to catch up on, don't we, Ela?" he asked her.

For a moment, I didn't think she was going to say anything. I saw her swallow and her tears threatened to begin yet again. Despite this, all she did was fling her arms around Jack and bury her face into his chest.

"I missed you so much," she told him.

"I'm sorry," he said softly as he got up from kneeling, holding her close as he did so.

She pulled away slightly, just enough so she could look up at him. "Don't be! You're alive, and it's because I thought you weren't that I missed you. But you're here now; that's what matters, even if you don't remember everything."

He tucked a few stray locks of hair behind her ear and smiled. "I remember enough, Ela."

She hugged him again. "Never leave me for so long again."

"I never will," he told her.

I couldn't stand the familial love that was oozing off these two. I got up and walked out of the restaurant, desperately needing air.

A few minutes later and Carlos came out. He took my hand and gave it a squeeze, causing me to smile a little bit.

"Tell me what's wrong," he said softly. "Is it Manuela?"

"She's part of it," I admitted. "I'm so used to having Jack to myself that I forgot that other people cared about him before everything."

"Do you remember everything?" Carlos asked me.

I was caught off guard by the question. It felt rather wicked to admit that _I_ remembered when Jack had barely been able to remember his name when I found him. If it hadn't been for his steely blue eyes—his body consisted of much less muscle—I probably wouldn't have known it was him.

"Yes," I told my friend softly.

"Was it bad? What you did, I mean." He gave my hand another squeeze. "Luis, I don't want to pressure you. If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine."

"I created a virus," I admitted. "Las plaga, to be exact; 'the plague,' it had been so ambitious with a foot on the ground and the other walking on air. I still have nightmares about it."

"I have nightmares about Raccoon City, if it's any consolation. I imagine what could've happened if I hadn't been able to save Jill; I'd end up alone in a city infested with zombies. But that's the past, Luis, isn't it called that for a reason?"

I avoided his eyes.

"Luis? What's wrong?" I could hear the worried edge to his voice.

Before I could say anything, Chris walked out. He came over to us, a sort of smile on his face. Carlos pulled away from me, letting my hand dropped.

"So…" the bear-ish brunette began. I knew whatever he was about to say was going to be directed towards me. "How come you never told Leon you were still alive?"

"Why do you care?" I asked him. "My relationship—where I stand with Leon—shouldn't be _any_ of _your_ business!"

He came closer, practically looming over me. "It has _everything_ to do with _my _business. _Any_thing that deals with Leon is important to me. As I recall, I was there for him while he thought you were _dead_."

That felt like a slap in the face. "You're…you're with Leon?"

"Yes, I am. Did I need to spell it out for you?" he asked me.

"No." I felt like I was choking. I wanted to go crawl home and curl up under my favorite blanket and go to sleep and wake up to the world being normal—no Ada, no Chris Redfield, no Manuela, no having to explain to Carlos what's happened…

I closed my eyes and mentally started counting down from thirty in Spanish. I opened my eyes and already started turning around. "I'm gonna go. Tell Jack to text me if he's not gonna be home tonight," _I have better things to do then babysit men who are older than me. _

"Luis!" I looked up as I was getting into my car. It was Ada, coming out from the restaurant. She crossed the street. "Tell me what's wrong." She took her hands into mine.

I was again caught off guard by someone. She looked pleadingly into my eyes.

"Please," the single word fell from her lips.

I swallowed hard and pulled away. "I gotta go, keep an eye on Jack for me, alright?"

"Of course," she told me as she turned around and walked across the street again.

For a moment, all I did was lean into the seat. I had to go though, before somebody else—namely, Jack—came out and asked me what was wrong.

I drove home, every step of my feet feeling like lead.

Once in the apartment, I went straight to my bedroom. Though I felt like collapsing on my bed, I found myself packing my duffel bag. I had to go. I couldn't stay here. I felt claustrophobic, not to mention I half suspected that Leon would come barging into the door at any moment, asking me where I'd been and why I hadn't told him I was alive.

No, it'd hurt too much.

I left a note for Jack on the counter. He had Manuela and Ada to be with him, not to mention Carlos was his friend.

He'd be fine.

I wiped my eyes on my sleeve and walked out of my apartment for the last time.

**Wesker Virginia (Leon's House)**

I was not particularly pleased when I found out my Mustang was gone. I refrained doing anything about it though, trying not to disturb a still sleeping Sherry.

I went downstairs to find Claire in the kitchen, making French toast. Aaron came in from outside with Amber, who instantly growled at me. Needless to say, the dog didn't like me much.

"'Morning Wesker," Aaron greeted me as he let the dog off her leash.

"Good morning Aaron, Claire," I was trying to be courteous to the younger Redfield. Though _she_ _was_ making it rather _difficult_…

"Good morning," she sounded distant, not even sparring a glance for either of us. "I don't know when Leon will be home, other than that it'll be late, so I guess we're on our own."

It was right then that Steve and Kate came back home. I hadn't even been paying attention to the sound of my Mustang. I guess I really am distracted…

"Good morning ya'll," Kate said, smiling. "Oh! French toast; Claire, I love you!" She hugged the other woman.

I flexed my hands, watching subtle movements in Steve. He watched Kate, but as she touched Claire, he instantly looked away, deciding to go into the living room to play with Amber. I turned to face him, considering saying something to him, but decided against it as he had his face pressed against Amber's neck, arms wrapped around the obviously happy dog.

"Steve, do you want to go eat upstairs with me?" Kate asked him, not noticing what he was doing.

I saw the flexing in his back muscles. _Dear God, I don't need anything happening to him now, either. Please get up Steve, please be normal…_

He stood up, a tired smile on his face. "Sure, sounds good to me."

Aaron and I both watched as the two went upstairs before we both went into the kitchen. I felt awkward as Aaron put his arms around Claire and kissed her neck.

Awkward enough to slowly begin backing up.

I was about to grab a plate of toast when my phone started ringing. As hungry as I was, I knew the only person who would be calling was Kollin, and I had to pick up to him.

"Hello," I said into the phone.

"_Never again_," Kollin growled. "I _am not_ touching _California with a ten foot pole_."

I frowned, moving more into the living room, taking note Amber got right up as I stepped three feet away from her.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"_What happened_ were Ada's lackeys. He stabbed me in my thigh! You asked me to check to see if she was alright, and you know what? She's damn well fine!"

"Kollin, calm down."

"No! Are you still in Virginia? I have to talk to you.

"Yes."

"Good, I'll see you tomorrow." Kollin hung up.

I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach after that.

* * *

**Author's Note****: **So...

Review?

~_HolleringHawk65_


	27. Import Notice!

I know Fanfiction's guidelines say that there shouldn't be Author Note chapters, but this is short, so... If anyone cares, I have deemed this story-line too confusing to continue and will be breaking up the story-lines and rewriting them into their own separate fan fictions when I get the chance, so please be on the look out for those if you liked this story! :)

Thank you so much to everybody who has read and reviewed this story! I appreciate it all so much, ya'll probably never understand. :D

~_HolleringHawk65_


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